The shekel continued to strengthen against the dollar in morning inter-bank trading today, despite encouraging US macroeconomic figures published yesterday. The shekel-dollar exchange rate was down 0.43% in morning trading to NIS 3.667/$, but the shekel-euro exchange rate rose 0.28% to NIS 4.802/€. The Bank of Israel today bought $30-40 million dollars, due to the drop in the basket of currencies caused by the shekel's appreciation against the euro. A market trader told "Globes", "We're not talking about a substantial amount, and in general, the Bank of Israel has not made the purchases through the banks, but through brokers. We'll have to wait and see whether there will be another intervention. I was surprised that he hasn’t intervened yet during the recent fall of the euro." Home prices in 20 US cities rose in September at the slowest pace in eight months, showing the latest slump in sales is hitting the housing market. The Institute for Supply Management-Chicago Inc. said that its index rose to 62.5 points in November, the highest since April, from 60.6 points in October. Investors in European markets are not optimistic about the crisis in the eurozone. The continent's top bourses fell yesterday. However, the euro rose 0.26% against the dollar to $1.303/€. The shekel-euro representative exchange rate fell 5.89% in November from NIS 5.09/€ on November 1 to NIS 4.789/€ on November 30. Market sources predict that the exchange rate could fall to as low as NIS 4.67/€. Yesterday, Pimco CEO Mohamed El-Erian told "CNBC" that he expects more European countries will need bailouts until policy makers address the underlying causes of their financial problems, which include too much government debt and not enough spending controls. He called Europe a "a slow-motion wreck".

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