(JPost) On Monday, April 3, the Bank of Israel raised the national interest rate by 0.25% to 4.5%, marking the ninth consecutive raise in a long-fought effort to curb the country’s steepening inflation rate; just last month, the Bank raised the interest rate by 0.5%, bringing it up to a 15-year high of 4.25%.

“With inflation above target and robust domestic demand, maintaining a tight monetary policy stance is warranted. The central bank has signaled that the pace of further interest hikes will be determined based on inflation and activity developments,” read an OECD report on Israel’s economy released Monday morning, April 3.