Shekel Strengthens Past 2.8 per Dollar, Pressuring Israeli High-Tech and Export Competitiveness
Updated
Updated · CTech · Jun 2
Shekel Strengthens Past 2.8 per Dollar, Pressuring Israeli High-Tech and Export Competitiveness
3 articles · Updated · CTech · Jun 2
Summary
The dollar briefly fell to 2.79 shekels over the weekend, deepening pressure on Israeli exporters and high-tech companies that earn in dollars but pay costs in shekels.
Wix last week said it would cut 20% of its workforce—about 1,000 jobs—with CEO Avishai Abrahami citing the weaker dollar as one factor behind the move.
Importers and retailers benefit from a stronger shekel through cheaper foreign goods, but the report says those gains are only partly passed to consumers, leaving exporters to absorb most of the pain.
Economists split on the response: some urge faster Bank of Israel rate cuts or even currency intervention, while others say fiscal policy, war-driven deficit pressures and structural weaknesses are the bigger problem.
A Tel Aviv University roundtable pointed to structural fixes, including state-backed hedging channels for pension funds, as investors shift tens of billions of shekels toward domestic products and policymakers face risks to future growth.