Jerusalem, (Samajweekly) Israel’s central bank has announced a rise in the benchmark interest rate by 25 basis points to 4.5 per cent.
Taking effect on April 7, it would be the country’s highest rate since December 2006, Xinhua news agency reported.
Israel’s interest rate moved along an upward path from as low as 0.1 per cent in April 2022 towards the current level.
The central bank counted on the rate increase to curb inflation that reached 5.4 per cent in January, a 12-month high point, before it dipped slightly to 5.2 per cent in February.
The central bank noted that a wide range of CPI components showed increase, and the recent moderation in annual inflation is slower than expected.
