Shekel Drops to Week-Low as Fischer Bids for IMF Job; Bonds Fall

The shekel fell to the lowest level in more than a week amid concern about Israel’s ability to maintain economic stability as central bank governor Stanley Fischer bid for the International Monetary fund’s top job.

The country recovered from the global recession faster than many other developed economies during Fischer’s tenure, with growth of 4.7 percent in the first quarter of 2011 and 7.6 percent in the fourth quarter of 2010. The economy is likely to expand 5.2 percent this year and 4.2 percent in 2012, the central bank said in a June 1 forecast.

“The possibility of Fischer leaving the country is creating uncertainty about the economy, which is a concern for investors because there is no adequate replacement,” Rony Gitlin, head of spot trading at Bank Leumi Le-Israel Ltd. in Tel Aviv, said by telephone. “There are bets on whether Fischer will succeed in the candidacy, but he wouldn’t bid for the post if he wasn’t sure he will succeed. He must know something we don’t.”

The shekel weakened as much as 0.9 percent to 3.4386 per dollar, the lowest since June 2, and was down 0.8 percent at 3.4348 at 11:53 a.m. in Tel Aviv.

Fischer, 67, is betting his experience and a shortage of candidates will prompt IMF members to waive an age requirement that would exclude him from the position, a person familiar with the situation said yesterday. French Finance Minister Christine Lagarde and Mexican central bank chief Agustin Carstens also are running.

Greece Dispute

“At the end of the day, the country’s economy doesn’t depend on any one person,” Sagi Stein, chief executive officer of Migdal Mutual Funds, said in a telephone interview yesterday. “I don’t believe it would harm the economy” if Fischer left, he said.

The shekel also is weakening because a dispute about Greece’s financing needs is increasing demand for the relative safety of the dollar, Leumi’s Gitlin said.

European Central Bank President Jean-Claude Trichet and German Finance Minister Wolfgang Schaeuble are at odds over investors’ role in the second Greek rescue in 14 months. Unless a deal can be struck to guarantee Greece’s financing needs for the next 12 months, the International Monetary Fund has threatened to withhold its share of what remains of Greece’s original 110 billion-euro ($158 billion) bailout.

The yield on Israel’s 5 percent Mimshal Shiklit bond due January 2020 rose five basis points, or 0.05 percentage point, to 5.15 percent, the highest since May 24.

To contact the reporter on this story: Sharon Wrobel in Tel Aviv at swrobel4@bloomberg.net