The bank expects inflation to rise each month until November.
"We have raised our inflation forecast for 2009 to 4%. We believe that the policy measures enacted contributed 1.5% to the inflation rate this year," says Bank Hapoalim. This is a high inflation rate, 1% above the government's 1-3% price stability target.
Bank Hapoalim revised its inflation forecast in light of the 0.5% rise in the Consumer Price Index (CPI) in August, which was driven by higher prices for housing, culture and entertainment, fruits and vegetables, and the drought tax on water consumption. The bank expects that the CPI will rise until November. It predicts a 0.1% rise in September, mostly driven by higher housing maintenance prices, despite the shekel's 1.3% appreciation against the dollar during the period of the survey. The bank expects the CPI to rise by 0.3% in October.
Published by Globes [online], Israel business news - www.globes-online.com - on September 16, 2009
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