KATHMANDU, Oct 16: The year-on-year consumer price inflation (CPI) moderated to 3.85 percent in mid-September 2024, from 8.19 percent in the same period last year.
The Current Macroeconomic and Financial Situation Report of Nepal unveiled by Nepal Rastra Bank (NRB) on Tuesday shows that the average price hike rate slashed by almost half in the second month of the current fiscal year. The inflation rate in mid-September this year was even less compared to that of the previous month when the rate was recorded at 4.10 percent.
The reduction in inflation was attributed to the slow growth in the prices of both the food and non-food items during the review month. According to the NRB, food and beverage inflation stood at 5.03 percent whereas non-food and service inflation stood at 3.19 percent in the review month. During the same period in the previous year, the price indices of these groups increased by 9.77 percent and 7.19 percent, respectively.
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Under the food and beverage category, the year-on-year price index of pulse and legumes sub-category increased 10.80 percent, vegetable 9.84 percent, cereal grains and their products 9.34 percent and fruit 4.94 percent. The price index of spices decreased 2.69 percent.
Under the non-food and services category, the price index of miscellaneous goods and services sub-category increased 8.71 percent, alcoholic drinks 6.76 percent, clothes and footwear 6.08 percent and furnishing and household equipment 4.88 percent. In the review month, the price index in the rural areas increased by 4.04 percent while it rose by 3.78 percent in the urban areas.
Province-wise, the year-on-year CPI in Koshi Province rose 4.66 percent, Madhesh Province 3.82 percent, Bagmati Province 3.29 percent and Gandaki Province 3.50 percent. Likewise, the CPI of Lumbini Province increased 3.53 percent, Karnali Province 3.56 percent, and that of Sudurpashchim Province stood at 5.90 percent.
In the review month, the CPI in the Kathmandu Valley, terai, hill and mountain regions surged 3.49 percent, 4.09 percent, 3.61 percent and 4.19 percent, respectively. Inflations in these regions were recorded at 9.83 percent, 7.03 percent, 8.09 percent and 11.32 percent, respectively, a year ago.
Since the commencement of the fiscal year 2024/25, the NRB has adopted the revised measures to estimate the inflation rate. The central bank has considered FY 2014/15 as the base year, while it has incorporated 525 goods and services from 87 different markets across 77 districts to estimate inflation.
