The Bank of Israel Monetary Committee decided on Monday to reduce its benchmark interest rate from 0.25% to 0.1%, citing the need to "ensure the orderly functioning of the financial markets."
The cut echoes similar measures taken by the US Federal Reserve, Bank of England and other central banks in recent weeks to limit the devastating economic impact of the coronavirus outbreak.
The committee had maintained the interest rate at 0.25% since November 2018, when the Bank of Israel surprised analysts by raising the rate from an all-time low of 0.1% after more than three-and-a-half years without change.