BoI maintains its dovish tone as outlook dims

Israel’s central bank (BoI) sounded more cautious about the outlook at today’s MPC meeting given the rise in virus cases and tightening of containment measures. Provided the third booster jab is effective and restrictions are not tightened significantly, we think the central bank will give guidance on ending its asset purchase programme later this year. But we maintain our view that interest rate hikes are some way off.