🚀 Introducing the IsraTransfer Currency Exchange Podcast! 🎙️💰
We’re excited to launch our new weekly podcast, where we break down the latest in currency exchange, market trends, and insights for anyone looking to transfer funds to Israel.
Hosted by our Co-Founder & Head of Trading, Daniel Engelsman, this podcast will keep you informed on market movements and what’s happening in the world of foreign exchange.
📢 First episode is now live and can be heard below!
What currency topics are you interested in? Drop them in the comments for future episodes! ⬇️
Disclaimer: The Company provides general information on currency exchange and transactions but does not offer legal, financial, or investment advice. Decisions related to buying or selling currency are solely the listener’s responsibility. The Company is not liable for any actions taken based on this content.
TRANSCRIPTION:
PRESENTER:
Welcome to the IsraTransfer Currency Weekly Roundup, brought to you by IsraTransfer. Whether you're a seasoned investor, an expat managing your finances, or just curious about the world of currency exchange, you're in the right place. Each week, IsraTransfer's co-founder and head of trading, Daniel Engelsman, will inform us of the latest trends, insights, and market movements that could impact your money.
From currency fluctuations to economic news, we're here to equip you with everything you need to navigate the ever-changing landscape of foreign exchange. So let's dive into this week's roundup.
Daniel, what's the latest update on the dollar exchange rate?
DANIEL ENGELSMAN:
Welcome to the first of this new venture of podcasts for ISRA Transfer.
Just want to introduce myself very quickly. I've been in the foreign exchange world for over 20 years, been helping people transfer money to and from Israel for a lot of that time, in fact, the majority of that time. And I've seen all different things happen in the exchange rate world over that period of time.
And what we're seeing at the moment is a very, very interesting period, especially the Shekel at the moment. What's happening around the world is driving what's happening with the exchange rate. So in these weekly podcasts, I hope to share some of my experience with you and try and demystify and simplify what's going on in the world so hopefully you can understand it and maybe make better informed decisions.
We're now at the beginning of February. January was interesting, starting with the dollar against the Shekel. We've seen the dollar start the year around 3.65 and end January on a downward trajectory.
And we're now seeing the rate around 3.55, 3.54. It's the lowest we've seen the dollar Shekel in well over a year. The whole of 2024, we saw the rate as high as 383 and as low as 356. So we're below the lows of the whole of last year at the moment.
PRESENTER:
What are the reasons behind these fluctuations?
DANIEL ENGELSMAN:
There's lots of factors that are affecting this. And it's not just the reason that the dollar is the way it is at the moment. We've seen dollars weakness and we've seen Shekel strength.
Dollar is weakening for a number of reasons. There is talk of interest rate cuts in the United States. Donald Trump has talked about potentially pushing the chair of the Fed to cut interest rates.
So when interest rates are cut, it becomes a less attracted currency. And exchange rates tend to fall of that currency. The tariffs that he's been talking about over the last week or so, especially against Canada, Europe as well, has had a negative impact on the dollar.
So especially against the Shekel. So we're seeing dollar Shekel fall on the back of that. Interest rates here in Israel are probably going to stay the same as well.
So we're seeing dollar fall against Shekel quite considerably. And it's mainly due to rates of interest rates being cut in the United States. The tariffs are having a negative impact on the dollar Shekel rate.
Whilst we're not directly impacted by all these tariffs that Donald Trump is imposing around the world, we are kind of caught a bit on the outside. If costs are going to go up of Canadian goods, European goods, we might get caught in the tail end of that. So all these things are having an impact on the exchange rate at the moment.
PRESENTER:
And what about the Canadian dollar, euro and British pound?
DANIEL ENGELSMAN:
Looking at Canadian dollar or, you know, let's start with sterling, just because I'm British. We've seen the pound fall against the Shekel to the lowest level that we've seen since probably 2023, middle of 2023. We've not seen rates as low as they are at the moment.
We're currently seeing, you know, we saw rates last month fall to as low as 4.34, which, you know, if you think we were at 5 at some point in September 2024, we saw a rate of 5. And we were close to it, obviously, when October 7th happened. Yes, sterling is also suffering, as is Canadian dollar. Canadian dollar, you could explain a bit relating to the tariffs that have been imposed there.
But if you look at the graph of the last year or even the last two years, we're seeing the lowest levels we've seen. Actually, it's probably the lowest levels we've seen since the end of December 2021. So a lot of pressure on Canadian dollar and it's not, yeah, it's not looking positive in the coming weeks.
PRESENTER:
What should investors and those looking to trade funds be looking at in the week ahead?
DANIEL ENGELSMAN:
Coming up in the next week or so, I guess all eyes are on Donald Trump. Just this week, he's announced his plan for Gaza. I imagine there'll be fallout from that, lots of political fallout from that.
Only time will tell whether his plans will go ahead, what the fallout will be and what the effects will have on the economy, both here and in local surroundings. So we need to keep an eye out for that.
PRESENTER:
How does this impact those looking to trade funds?
DANIEL ENGELSMAN:
How does it affect you? I had a client this week who only a few weeks ago budgeted his property purchase at 3.63. The dollar rate now is 3.54. In the last few weeks, the cost of his property has gone up by over 3%.
And that's just in three weeks. So how can we help? Look, we can't perform magic. The rate is what it is.
There are ways of, you know, looking at it and maybe if you have access to the funds, when you purchase or agree the purchase, you can convert more funds at the beginning. But you need to really keep a close eye on the exchange rate. Just because you agree the rates, you agree the deal at a certain time and the rate is a certain rate at that time, I guarantee you that even in the course of two weeks, three weeks, let alone if you're buying a new build property over the course of three years, the exchange rates you have to keep a very close eye on because it has a big impact on the cost in your home currency of the purchase of your property.
So I'll leave on that very positive note. And, you know, any questions, feel free to reach out to me.
PRESENTER:
And that wraps up this week's Currency Weekly Roundup.
We hope you found this episode informative and engaging. If you enjoyed today's discussion, be sure to subscribe and let us know if you have any questions you'd like Daniel to answer. Your feedback helps us bring you the content you want to hear.
For more information on currency exchange and to stay updated with the latest trends, visit us at isratransfer.com. Join us next week for more insights and analysis. Until then, stay informed and take care.
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