Israel’s forex reserves hit record 205.91 bln USD

JERUSALEM, Sept. 5 (Xinhua) — Israel’s foreign exchange reserves reached a new record of 205.91 billion U.S. dollars at the end of August, according to data issued by the Bank of Israel on Sunday.

This is an increase of nearly 4.22 billion dollars month on month from the end of July. The total reserves represent 46.8 percent of the country’s GDP, the Israeli central bank said.

This is the 11th consecutive monthly increase in Israel’s forex reserves after September 2020.

The increase was the result of over 1.64-billion-dollar purchases by the central bank in August, an allocation by the International Monetary Fund totaling over 2.61 billion dollars, and revaluation that increased the reserves by 392 million dollars.

Meanwhile, the increase was partly offset by private sector transfers of 203 million dollars and government transfers to abroad totaling 226 million dollars.