BoP surplus declines to Rs. 1.59 b

The overall balance of payment (BoP) of Nepal Rastra Bank has declined to Rs. 1.59 billion during seven months of 2012/13 compared to a surplus of Rs. 76.28 billion during the same period of the previous year.

According to the central bank, its current account posted a deficit of Rs. 1.71 billion in the review period compared to a surplus of Rs. 34.67 billion in the same period of the previous year.

The decline in surplus in the current account was primarily due to a substantial rise in the imports of merchandise and services as well as the slow growth of workers' remittances in the review period.

In US dollar terms, the current account registered a deficit of US$ 21.4 million in the review period compared to a surplus of US$ 433.7 million in the corresponding period of the previous year.

In US dollar terms, remittance inflow increased by 8.0 percent to US$ 2.58 billion during the review period compared to an increase of 25.0 percent in same period of the previous year.

On a monthly basis, remittance inflows decreased by 20.0 percent in January/February compared to the value of the previous month of this fiscal year. Nepalnews.com