Shekel Loses Ground, USD/ILS Tests 50-DMA

The shekel finds itself on the back foot, with USD/ILS lodging gains in the London session despite deepening weakness in the wider greenback (as measured by the BBDXY index). When this is being typed, USD/ILS trades +196 pips at ILS3.6484, testing its 50-DMA (ILS3.6516). Should this moving average give way, bulls would set their sights on Jun 2 cycle high of ILS3.7551.

• Bank of Israel Governor Amir Yaron has asked Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to halt draft legislation that would force banks to pay a minimum interest rate on checking accounts. In a letter published on the BoI's website, Yaron calls on Netanyahu to pull the bill from the Knesset agenda before it is put to a preliminary vote tomorrow. The law would allow the central bank to set the minimum interest rate with the approval of the Finance Minister.
• Israeli anti-judicial overhaul protesters announced plans to resume rallies and block the Ben Gurion airport on Sunday after the government decided to advance some of its contentious reforms. The Times of Israel reported that hundreds of Air Force reservists "signed a letter warning that they will refuse to volunteer for duty if the judicial overhaul goes ahead."
• PM Netanyahu's plan to pay a visit to China has drawn some attention due to its potential to further complicate Israel's relations with the US amid existing tensions over the judicial overhaul, Iran nuclear talks and West Bank policies.