Israel Central Bank to keep interest rate at 0.1 percent

"The year 2017 was a good one for the Israeli economy."

By JPOST.COM STAFF

JANUARY 11, 2018 11:48

Updated: JANUARY 11, 2018 11:59

Dollar and shekel, side by side (photo credit: THOMAS WHITE / REUTERS) — Dollar and shekel, side by side

(photo credit: THOMAS WHITE / REUTERS)

The Bank of Israel's Monetary Committee announced Wednesday it will keep the interest rate at 0.1 percent, after Israel's economy continued to grow in the fourth quarter of 2017.

"The year 2017 was a good one for the Israeli economy," Governor of the Bank of Israel Karnit Flug said. "This year as well, the low inflation rate did not reflect weak demand, and updated assessments are that the economy grew by 3 percent."

The shekel has strengthened — mainly against the dollar — by about 5 percent in the past 12 months.

The committee's research department's staff predicts the economy will grow by about 7 percent in the next two years, 3.5 percent per year.