Shekel strengthening against dollar, amid U.S. political crisis

The dollar is struggling on world markets because of the political chaos in Washington over the House of Representatives refusal to approve President Trump's budget.

Dollar and shekel, side by side (photo credit: THOMAS WHITE / REUTERS)
Dollar and shekel, side by side
(photo credit: THOMAS WHITE / REUTERS)
(TNS) -The shekel is strengthening today against both the dollar and the euro. In late afternoon inter-bank trading, the shekel-dollar exchange rate is down 0.30% against the dollar at NIS 3.763/$ and down 0.40% against the euro at 4.285/€.
The Bank of Israel set the shekel-dollar representative rate unchanged today at NIS 3.774/$ from Friday's rate and set the shekel-euro rate down 0.195% at 4.294/€. There was no foreign currency trading yesterday with world markets closed for Christmas Day.
The dollar is struggling on world markets because of the political chaos in Washington over the House of Representatives refusal to approve President Trump's budget for the US-Mexican border wall. The US trade war with China and the tension between Trump and the Fed over interest rate hikes have only added to the uncertainty, making the Japanese yen and Swiss franc the favored safe haven currencies.
The shekel is still trading at two-year weakest levels against the dollar but is strengthening despite the widening interest rate gap between the Israeli and US currencies.
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