Kathmandu, Aug 24
The average consumer price inflation stood at
6.15 percent in the Fiscal year 2019/20, slightly undermining the central
bank's estimates of 6 per cent.
The Nepal Rastra Bank in its Monetary Policy
for the last fiscal had said that the monetary management would focus on
containing the consumer price inflation within 6 per cent to maintain the price
stability. The previous FY 2018/19 had witnessed 4.64 per cent annual
inflation.
However, the year-on-year CPI stood at 4.78
per cent in mid-July 2020 compared to 6.02 per cent a year ago. It was 5.83 per
cent in mid-May this year.
According to the annual Macroeconomic and
Financial Situation report of the country, food inflation had spiked to 8.16
per cent last year compared to 3.09 per cent a year ago while non-food and
services inflation stood at 4.61 per cent coming down from last year's 5.86 per
cent.
The Kathmandu Valley witnessed 6.96 per cent
inflation followed by 6.29 per cent in the Terai, 5.10 per cent in the Hill and
4.91 per cent in the Mountain.
These regions had witnessed 4.86 per cent,
4.26 per cent, 5.00 per cent and 4.91 per cent inflation respectively in the
previous fiscal year.
In FY 2019/20, merchandise exports increased
by 0.6 per cent to Rs.97.71 billion compared to an increase of 19.4 per cent in
2018/19.
Destination-wise, exports to India increased
by 11.8 per cent whereas exports to China and the other countries decreased by
43.5 per cent and 18.2 per cent respectively.
Exports of palm oil, medicine (ayurvedic),
herbs, plastic utensils, fruits, among others, increased whereas exports of
zinc sheet, wire, polyster yarn and threads, readymade garment and woollen
carpet decreased.
Likewise,
merchandise imports decreased by 15.6 per cent to Rs.1196.8 billion against an
increase of 13.9 per cent in the previous year.
Destination-wise, imports from India, China
and other countries decreased by 19.9 per cent, 11.5 per cent and 5.3 per cent respectively.
Imports of crude palm oil, crude soyabean
oil, chemical fertilizer, edible oil, computer and parts, increased whereas
imports of petroleum products, transport equipment and parts, M.S. billet,
gold, other machinery and parts decreased.
Remittance inflows decreased by 0.5 per cent
to Rs.875.03 billion in the FY 2019/20 against an increase of 16.5 per cent in
the previous year.
Number of Nepali workers taking approval for
foreign employment decreased by 20.5 per cent in the last fiscal. It had
decreased by 32.6 percent in the previous year.
Similarly, net transfer income decreased by
1.3 per cent to Rs.982.22 billion in the review year. Such income had increased
by15.0 per cent in the previous year.
Current account deficit goes down
The current account deficit decreased by 87.9
per cent to Rs.32.06 billion last year while such deficit was Rs.265.36 billion
in the previous year.
Capital transfer decreased by 8.1 per cent to
Rs.14.21 billion and net foreign direct investment (FDI) increased by 49.1 per
cent to Rs.19.48 billion. In the previous year, capital transfer and net FDI
amounted to Rs.15.46 billion and Rs.13.06 billion respectively.
Balance of Payments (BOP) remained at a
surplus of Rs.282.41 billion in the review year against a deficit of Rs.67.4
billion in the previous year.
Gross foreign exchange reserves increased by
34.9 per cent to Rs.1401.84 billion in mid-July 2020 from Rs.1038.92 billion in
mid-July 2019.
Domestic credit decreased
Domestic credit expanded by 13.6 per cent in
the review year compared to a growth of 21.1 per cent in the previous year.
Claims on private sector increased by 12.6 per cent in the review year compared
to a growth of 19.1 per cent in the previous year.
Deposits at Banks and Financial Institutions (BFIs)
increased by 18.7 per cent in the review year compared to an increase of 18 per
cent in the previous year.
The share of demand, saving, and fixed
deposits in total deposits stands at 10 per cent, 31.9 per cent and 48.6 per
cent respectively in mid-July 2020. Such shares were 9.7 per cent, 32.8 per
cent and 46.3 per cent respectively a year ago.
No comments:
Post a Comment