On December 13 Joseph Morgenstern, Publisher of the Israel High-Tech & Investment Report, was quoted by Jennifer
Downey in a Dow Jones News Wires interview:
"Far from fearing that political consequences will take a toll on the shekel, Morgenstern would welcome a decline in
the shekel's exchange rate in order to stave off dire economic consequences. I think a country of six million people
has to maximize the return on its exports. It needs to have a rational exchange rate," Morgenstern said.
On December 13 the New Israel Shekel Exchange Rate was NIS 4.227 to one US dollar. On December 28 the Exchange
Rate after a 3.8% devaluation stood at
NIS 4.388 to one US dollar.
The downward move came in the wake of a 2% reduction in Israel's prime rate to an all-time low of 3.8%
"The shekel was overvalued and based on economic logic it needed to move lower. In the Dow Jones Wire interview I
optimistically projected a 5% devaluation by March 30, 2002. It surprised me that the greater part of the prediction was
fulfilled before the end of 20001," Morgenstern said.