JERUSALEM, Sept 18 Reuters All five members of the Bank of Israel39;s monetary policy committee voted on Sept. 4 to leave the benchmark interest rate at 4.75 but were ready to resume hikes if inflation remained high, minutes of the discussion showed on Monday.

The central bank39;s move to hold rates this month was the second in a row and followed 10 straight rate increases that had taken the policy rate from 0.1 in April of 2022.

It noted that economic activity in Israel was at a high level, and accompanied by a tight labour market, although there was some moderation in a number of indicators.

Inflation, the bank said, was broad and remained high but appears to be slowing. Helped by a negative rate in August 2022, the inflation rate fell to 3.3 in July 2023 but data published on Friday showed the rate jumped to a higher than expected 4.1 in August well above its 13 annual target range.

The MPC decided to leave the interest rate unchanged, but sees a real possibility of having to raise the interest rate in future decisions, if the inflation environment does not continue to moderate as expected, it said.

Policymakers noted that even though rates were restrictive and working to moderate inflation, the shekel39;s depreciation was a key factor keeping inflation lofty. Since the beginning of the year, the shekel has weakened nearly 9 versus the dollar, largely due to investor fears surrounding the government39;s plan to rein in the Supreme Court39;s powers.

The central…