Absence of 2020 Budget Won’t Hurt Israel’s Rating, Official Says

(Bloomberg) -- Israel’s third round of elections in less than a year has left the country without a 2020 budget, but a senior Finance Ministry official doesn’t anticipate that will hurt the nation’s credit rating or affect debt-raising plans.

The ministry won’t decide whether to raise debt, and if so, how much, until early next year, the official said.

Global investors and rating companies know that Israel’s economy has proven resilient to security challenges, the official said, speaking on condition of anonymity due to the sensitivity of the matter. And while Israel has failed to form a government after two elections this year, it generally has been politically stable over the past decade, the official said.

Economists have said the liberalization of Israel’s economy has reduced sensitivity to regional flare-ups and that any impact from violence would be fleeting. Others have predicted the country’s currency will continue to outperform this year. The shekel is the second-best performer this year among major peers.

To contact the reporter on this story: Gwen Ackerman in Jerusalem at gackerman@bloomberg.net

To contact the editors responsible for this story: Riad Hamade at rhamade@bloomberg.net, Amy Teibel, Onur Ant

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