Last update - 00:00 24/03/2008
Dollar flexes new muscles, leaps to NIS 3.52 on Fischer gambits
By Yael Pollack
The U.S. dollar flexed new muscles on Monday, trading up more than 3 percent at NIS 3.52 in the early afternoon, building on gains prompted by Bank of Israel Governor Stanley Fischer's surprise announcement late last week that the central bank would purchase $25 million per day for two years, a total of $10 billion, to bar further slippage by the American currency.
Analysts said the rise also reflected the widespread expectation that Fischer would further lower interest rates by a quarter to half a percentage point, a move which would render the shekel less attractive
The Monday trading followed a weekend hiatus, with dollar markets sidelined to mark Good Friday and Easter Sunday.
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