JERUSALEM Reuters All six rate setters at the Bank of Israel voted to keep the benchmark interest rate at 0.1 on July 5, minutes of the discussions showed on Monday.

They were of the view that the low level of the interest rate supports the continued recovery of economic activity, the central bank said.

In keeping rates steady for a 10th straight decision, the bank had cited economic risks from the emerging Delta variant in the COVID19 pandemic.

At the same time, the committee believes there is no concern of inflation heating up amid a spike in inflation in the United States. The annual inflation rate reached 1.7 in June, within an official 13 target range.

While most assessments are that the high inflation

in the U.S. is not expected to persist, the committee was of the view that it remains difficult to determine how transitory the increase in Israels inflation is, but emphasized that inflation in Israel is much lower than in the U.S., and there is no concern of an outbreak of inflation, the minutes said.

It noted that a rise in COVID19 inoculation was driving the Israeli and global economies.

Growth in Israel is expected at 5.5 in 2021 although policymakers remain worried over employment, which remains lower than precrisis levels even as the number of job vacancies in some industries persist.

The broadest measure of unemployment showed the jobless rate falling to 9.0 in June from 9.8 in May.

The recovery in the labour market is expected to continue, even…