The Bank of Israel is expected to leave short-term interest rates unchanged this week for its ninth straight policy meeting, amid higher inflation and a view that a rapid COVID-19 vaccination roll-out will revive economic growth.
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All 17 economists polled by Reuters believe the monetary policy committee (MPC) will keep the benchmark rate at an all-time low of 0.1% when the decision is announced on Monday at 4 p.m. (1300 GMT).
The next policy move is widely expected to be a rate increase but not until at least 2022, with some projecting 2023.
"No change in monetary policy is expected, but a very optimistic tone is certainly expected by the Bank of Israel, given the sharp decline in morbidity and the full opening of the economy," said Leader Capital Markets chief economist Jonathan Katz.
