Strategists at Goldman Sachs Group Inc. have revised their forecasts to reflect a weaker shekel on renewed concerns that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s judicial plan will increase pressure on the currency and the central bank won’t intervene to support it.

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Comments by central bank Deputy Governor Andrew Abir last week that interest rates need to be the main tightening tool have downplayed the “potential for FX interventions, the strategists said in a report on Friday. The shekel slumped 2.3 percent last week after parliament passed a new national budget, which granted more funding to the nation’s ultra-Orthodox in order to secure the bloc’s loyalty to his right-wing coalition.

Goldman revised its forecasts of the shekel to 3.70 and 3.60 against the dollar in the next three and 12 months, respectively, compared with 3.50 and 3.40 previously. While that’s still stronger than the current level, the strategists said they expect volatility around their estimates to “remain elevated. The shekel rose 0.3 percent to 3.7178 as of 2:50 p.m. in Jerusalem on Monday.

“With limited policy support, we think domestic political developments will remain in the driver’s seat for the shekel, Goldman’s strategists, including Kamakshya Trivedi, said in the report.

The shekel’s correlation with the performance of global technology stocks began to break down in January amid massive protests against Netanyahu’s plans to give politicians more control over the judiciary and its appointments. His decision in late March to delay the plan had provided some reprieve for the currency, until last week.

The shekel trades at a more than 10 percent discount to Goldman’s estimated fair value of around 3.3 per dollar, the strategists said.

In April, Moody’s Investors Service lowered the outlook on the nation’s A1 rating to stable from positive, citing a “deterioration of Israel’s governance.

“If market participants and tech investors continue to grow more concerned about domestic political developments and their impact on institutional quality, then risk premium may build further in the currency, the strategists at Goldman said.

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Tesla Chief Executive Elon Musk is expected to visit China this week, three people with knowledge of the matter said, in what would be his first trip to the country in three years.
Musk is expected to meet senior Chinese officials and to visit Tesla’s Shanghai plant, two of the sources said.
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It was not immediately clear who Musk would meet and what they would discuss. The people with knowledge of the trip declined to be named as the matter is private.
Tesla and China’s State Council Information Office did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
Reuters reported in March that Musk was planning a trip to China and seeking a meeting with Chinese Premier Li Qiang as early as April, with the exact timing subject to Li’s availability.
China is Tesla’s second-largest market after the United States, and its Shanghai plant is the electric carmaker’s largest production hub.
Musk also owns social media platform Twitter, which is banned in China, although some people access it via virtual private networks (VPNs).
The trip would mark Musk’s first in China since he set the internet abuzz by dancing on stage during an event at Tesla’s Shanghai factory in early 2020.
It would also come at a time when Tesla is grappling with multiple issues, including intensifying competition with Chinese automakers that are exporting their China-made electric vehicles as demand in the world’s largest auto market weakens.
Tesla has not yet given any update on its plans to increase output by 450,000 vehicles a year at its Shanghai plant, although it said in April it would build a factory in Shanghai to produce Megapack energy storage products.
The company has submitted plans to local authorities to expand capacity for producing powertrains at the Shanghai plant to 1.75 million units annually.
China’s state planner has been struggling with a capacity glut in its auto industry with more than 100 players and has been cautious about approving new production capacity.
Musk told CNBC earlier this month that “there are some constraints on our ability to expand in China.” He added: “It’s not a demand issue.”
In the same interview, Musk said tensions between the United States and China “should be a concern for everyone.”
Tesla is building a plant in Mexico expected to produce a lower-cost electric car built on its next-generation platform.
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Iran is preparing to unveil a hypersonic missile in the near future, a senior Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) commander said on Monday.

This comes after Iran last week unveiled a new ballistic missile capable of reaching a range of 2,000 kilometers (1,242 miles) and carrying warheads weighing over a ton.

“The hypersonic missile has passed its tests and will be unveiled soon,” the semi-official Tasnim news agency quoted Amirali Hajizadeh, head of the IRGC’s aerospace unit, as saying.

“This new missile is capable of passing through all missile defense systems. It targets the enemy’s anti-missile systems and is a big leap in the field of missiles,” he added.

“The hypersonic missile has a high speed and can maneuver in and out of the atmosphere.”

In November, Hajizadeh made the initial claim that Iran had developed a hypersonic missile. The claim was met with doubts from Washington, with a Pentagon spokesperson saying that the US was “skeptical” of the assertion.

Hypersonic missiles can fly at speeds at least five times faster than the speed of sound, following intricate trajectories that make interception challenging. Unlike ballistic missiles, hypersonic missiles travel at low altitudes in the atmosphere, potentially enabling them to reach targets more swiftly.

On Thursday, Iran unveiled the Kheibar missile, which is an updated version of the Khorramshahr, the country’s longest-range missile to date.

State news agency IRNA described the Kheibar as “a liquid fuel missile with a range of 2,000 kilometers and a 1,500 kilogram warhead.”

The US described Iran’s missile program as a “serious threat” following the unveiling.

“Iran’s development, and proliferation of, ballistic missiles poses a serious threat to regional and international security and remains a significant non-proliferation challenge,” State Department spokesman Matthew Miller told reporters.

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