Kathmandu, September 18
The Nepal Rastra Bank reported that remittance inflow in the country has surged by 25.8 per cent to reach Rs 116.02 billion in the first month of the current fiscal year.
This marks an increase from the 20.3 per cent growth observed during the same period in the previous fiscal year.
Over Rs 1 trillion in remittances came into the country in fiscal year 2022/2023.
Similarly, the central bank stated that the number of Nepali workers obtaining approval for foreign employment stood at 39,152 in the first month. This represents a decrease of 12.1 per cent compared to the same period in the previous year.
As per the central bank’s report, the current account registered a surplus of Rs 12.99 billion in the review period, in contrast to a deficit of Rs 15.13 billion in the corresponding period of the previous year.
In that period, capital transfers decreased by 65.9 per cent, amounting to Rs 272.6 million, while net foreign direct investment (FDI) remained positive at Rs 2.65 billion.
Likewise, the balance of payments (BOP) remained at a surplus of Rs 32.90 billion in the review period, which was at a deficit of Rs 19.76 billion in the same period of the last fiscal year.
According to the NRB, the year-on-year consumer price inflation remained at 7.52 per cent in mid-August compared to 8.26 per cent a year ago. Food and beverage inflation stood at 8.95 per cent whereas non-food and service inflation stood at 6.42 per cent, the central bank said.
Furthermore, the country’s exports decreased 8.7 per cent to Rs 13.53 billion compared to a decrease of 28.7 per cent in the same period of the previous year.
It said exports to India decreased 20.8 per cent whereas exports to China and other countries increased 527.2 per cent and 15.4 per cent respectively.
During the first month of this fiscal year, the country’s imports decreased 1.6 per cent to Rs 129.24 billion compared to a decrease of 12.9 per cent a year ago. Destination-wise, imports from India and China increased by 3.3 per cent and 17 per cent while imports from other countries decreased by 23.1 per cent.
