Israeli Bank Leumi Raises $721 Million in Bond Issue

Israeli Shekel notes are pictured at a bank branch in Tel Aviv in this August 29, 2011 photo illustration file picture. REUTERS/Nir Elias/Files
Israeli Shekel notes are pictured at a bank branch in Tel Aviv in this August 29, 2011 photo illustration file picture. REUTERS/Nir Elias/Files
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Israeli Bank Leumi Raises $721 Million in Bond Issue

Israeli Shekel notes are pictured at a bank branch in Tel Aviv in this August 29, 2011 photo illustration file picture. REUTERS/Nir Elias/Files
Israeli Shekel notes are pictured at a bank branch in Tel Aviv in this August 29, 2011 photo illustration file picture. REUTERS/Nir Elias/Files

Bank Leumi (LUMI.TA), one of Israel's two largest lenders, said on Sunday it raised 2.3 billion shekels ($721 million) in a bond offering to institutional investors and the public.

Leumi issued two new bond series - a six-year and eight-year, which will yield 1.02% and 0.75%, respectively, Leumi said.

Demand for the issues reached 5 billion shekels, it said, Reuters reported.

The bonds are rated "AAA" by Standard & Poor's Maalot.

Earlier this month, Leumi reported a more than doubling of third-quarter net profit to 1.55 billion shekels and said it would pay a dividend of 1.367 billion shekels, reflecting 30% of net profit from the first nine months of the year. read more



Gold Firms; Focus on US Data for Cues on Fed's Policy Path

FILE PHOTO: A woman looks at a gold bangle inside a jewellery showroom at a market in Mumbai January 15, 2015. REUTERS/Shailesh Andrade//File Photo
FILE PHOTO: A woman looks at a gold bangle inside a jewellery showroom at a market in Mumbai January 15, 2015. REUTERS/Shailesh Andrade//File Photo
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Gold Firms; Focus on US Data for Cues on Fed's Policy Path

FILE PHOTO: A woman looks at a gold bangle inside a jewellery showroom at a market in Mumbai January 15, 2015. REUTERS/Shailesh Andrade//File Photo
FILE PHOTO: A woman looks at a gold bangle inside a jewellery showroom at a market in Mumbai January 15, 2015. REUTERS/Shailesh Andrade//File Photo

Gold prices hovered near a four-week peak on Thursday, while focus shifted to jobs report due on Friday for clarity on the Federal Reserve's 2025 interest rate path.
Spot gold edged 0.1% higher to $2,664.30 per ounce, as of 0732 GMT. US gold futures rose 0.4% to $2,681.80
"Prices are trading in a narrow range ... A new trigger is needed for gold to breach its resistance," said Ajay Kedia, director at Kedia Commodities in Mumbai.
The bullion hit a near four-week high in the previous session after a weaker-than-expected US private employment report hinted that the Fed may be less cautious about easing rates this year.
The market now awaits US jobs report on Friday for more cues on the Fed's policy path.
Investors are also awaiting Donald Trump to take office on Jan. 20 and his proposed tariffs and protectionist policies are expected to fuel inflation.
Policymakers at the Fed's last meeting also "noted that recent higher-than-expected readings on inflation, and the effects of potential changes in trade and immigration policy, suggested that the process could take longer than previously anticipated," the minutes showed on Wednesday.
Bullion is considered an inflationary hedge, but high rates reduce the non-yielding asset's allure.
"We believe the bulk of the rally has been put in and that while gold's upward momentum may carry it higher in the near term and in early 2025, a combination of physical and financial market factors may tame the rally and drive gold moderately lower by the end of next year," HSBC said in a note.
Elsewhere, physically-backed gold exchange-traded funds (ETFs) registered their first inflow in four years, the World Gold Council said.
Spot silver added 0.2% to $30.17 per ounce, platinum dropped 0.3% to $952.54 and palladium shed 0.8% to $921.37.