Israel's foreign currency reserves rise sharply

Israel’s foreign exchange reserves at the end of April 2016 stood at $95,685 million, an increase of $904 million from their level at the end of the previous month.

The increase was the result of:

Foreign currency purchases by the Bank of Israel totaling US$1,200 million.

A revaluation* that increased the reserves by about US$42 million.

These were partly offset by:

Government transfers to abroad of about US$336 million.

A decrease of about US$2 million derived from private sector transactions.

Israel's foreign currency reserves have risen by nearly US$10 billion over the past year, mainly through purchases of foreign currency by the Bank of Israel.