The shekel broke the NIS 3.1 barrier on Thursday, according to data from the Bank of Israel, after months hovering on the three-per-dollar line and worries in the private sector about an impending crisis if the Israeli currency kept strengthening against the dollar.
The data published by the Bank of Israel set the dollar at NIS 3.1 in what represents a 1% increase in the last 24 hours, the first time this was registered since the currency started experiencing a strengthening round at the beginning of April.
The situation in April represented the first time the shekel fell below the NIS 3 line in over 30 years, with the main reasons behind the fall being the resilience of the Israeli economy even during the war and a period of significant weakening of the American currency.
The situation also pushed many Israeli and foreign companies operating in the country to cut wages and staff because the depreciation of the American currency against the shekel hit their main income (in dollars) hard.
Innovation Authority launches NIS 1 billion to ease crisis
In July, the Israel Innovation Authority announced a NIS 1 billion funding program for start-ups affected by the current strengthening of the shekel against the dollar in the currency exchange market.
The fund aimed to support technology start-ups and early-stage projects whose runway, the capital available to operate the company before closing, has been shortened by the shekel's rapid appreciation against the dollar.
The dollar-shekel exchange rate was one of the main topics experts raised when The Jerusalem Post asked them in July about the main challenges the next head of the authority will face after Dror Bin steps down by the end of the year.
Moran Ben Gigi, head of technology consulting and partner at KPMG Israel, told the Post that one challenge will be keeping Israel’s workforce competitive even amid a weak dollar and high salaries.
“We must invest heavily in 'AI Fitness' for junior developers, maximizing their productivity to maintain Israel's hiring attractiveness while simultaneously building our next generation of talent,” he said.