Bank of Israel held its policy rate at 3.25% on Wednesday, pausing after three consecutive cuts and aligning with economists' forecasts six days ahead of a decisive election. The central bank upgraded its growth forecast to 5.6% for this year—about 1

2026-10-21

Bank of Israel held its policy rate at 3.25% on Wednesday, pausing after three consecutive cuts and aligning with economists' forecasts six days ahead of a decisive election. The central bank upgraded its growth forecast to 5.6% for this year—about 1 percentage point above the IMF's 4.5% and the strongest among OECD members. Inflation has fallen faster than expected to 1.6% and the shekel has weakened versus the USD, easing near-term pressure for further rate cuts since the last policy move.