JERUSALEM, May 22 (Xinhua) -- The Bank of Israel (BOI) announced on Monday that it is raising its benchmark interest rate by 0.25 percentage points to 4.75 percent, the highest level since November 2006.
This is the tenth consecutive increase in the benchmark rate since April 2022, which stood at 0.1 percent.
The Israeli central bank said that it is raising rates in order to combat inflation, which has been running above the government's target range of 1 percent to 3 percent for several months. In April 2023, inflation reached 5 percent.
The BOI said that it expects inflation to continue declining in the coming months, but it will remain above the target range for some time.
The central bank also said that it will continue to monitor economic conditions and adjust interest rates as needed.
