Foreign Exchange Reserves at the Bank of Israel, May 2023

Israel’s foreign exchange reserves at the end of May 2023 stood at $199,621 million, a decrease of $2,274 million from their level at the end of the previous month. The level of the reserves relative to GDP was 38.4 percent (Figure 1).

 

The decrease was the result of:

1. A revaluation^[1] that decreased the reserves by approximately $2,307 million.
2. Government transfers to abroad totaling approximately $16 million.

 

In contrast, the decrease was partly offset by private sector transfers totaling approximately $49 million.

 

Israel's Foreign Exchange Reserves ($ million)

 

Date	Reserves excluding IMF (including reserves bought under the natural gas purchase program)	Reserves at the IMF[2]	Total Foreign Exchange Reserves
May 2023	195,100	4,521	199,621
April 2023	197,390	4,505	201,895
March 2023	195,951c	4,535	200,486c
February 2023	191,987c	4,292	196,279c
January 2023	196,460c	4,525c	200,985c
December 2022	189,742c	4,476c	194,218c
November 2022	189,997	4,421c	194,418c
October 2022	184,531	4,311	188,842
September 2022	181,720c	4,274	185,994c
August 2022	187,804	4,347	192,151
July 2022	193,011c	4,458	197,469c
June 2022	189,384	4,426	193,810
May 2022	195,361	4,447	199,808
April 2022	193,213	4,417	197,630

 

Figure 1

Level of foreign exchange reserves, and their ratio to GDP, 2007–23

 

^a Includes Bank of Israel payments and receipts in foreign currency.

b This column includes Special Drawing Rights (SDRs), the balance of NAB loans, and the balance of Israel's reserve tranche at the IMF.

c Updated after the original date of publication.