Interest and Dollar-Shekel Rates May Have Hit Bottom
Full Text:
The Merrill Lynch investment house has advised the Bank of Israel to halt the cuts in interest rates and allow the low rate to take effect. The Bank again cut the prime rate by a quarter of a percent for June. Rates have dropped by two percent in the past several months.
The dollar-shekel rate rose to 4.048 Wednesday morning, and several analysts suggested that investors may be nervous about the prospects that Defense Minister Amir Peretz may serve as Foreign Minister.