Currency
The Nepali rupee gained 80 paisa vis-à-vis the US dollar and valued in at 79.30 per dollar on Friday, as the Indian currency, with which domestic currency is pegged, strengthened against the greenback over the week.
Nepal Rastra Bank, the country´s monetary authority, fixed the greenback´s exchange rate at Rs 80.10 on Sunday. Nepali currency consistently strengthened for the next four days and the US dollar´s exchange rate dropped to Rs 79.40 on Wednesday. On Thursday, it marginally depreciated by 20 points, only to gain 30 paisa against the US dollar on Friday.
The Nepali rupee also gained Rs 1.26 against the euro over the week, but weakened against the pound sterling by 53 paisa. One euro was exchanged at Rs 105.78 on Friday, while the pound sterling was sold at Rs 119.57 on the day. As per the existing open market exchange rate policy, rates quoted by different banks, however, may differ.
Bullion
Gold became dearer by Rs 39 per gram over the week, as a rise in international prices pushed domestic prices of the metal up. It was traded at Rs 23,750 per 10 grams on Friday in the domestic market.
According to Nepal Gold-Silver Dealers´ Association, gold was traded at Rs 23,360 per 10 grams on Sunday. Despite appreciation of Nepali currency vis-à-vis the dollar, gold prices continued to rise over the next couple of days, touching Rs 23,660 on Tuesday. On Wednesday, it receded to Rs 23,575 per 10 grams, but gained for the remaining two days and closed at Rs 23,750 on Friday.
The price of silver also rose over the week, trading at Rs 366 per 10 grams on Friday. As Nepal fulfills its bullion demand through imports, any fluctuation in gold and silver prices in the international market directly impact prices in the domestic market.
Stock Market
The Nepal Stock Exchange gained 12.01 points over the week and closed at 654.05 on Thursday. The rise was attributed to the return of investors in the market after the Maoists, whose ambiguous policy towards secondary market players which has kept investors at bay, stepped down from the government earlier this week.
A statement from the Nepal Stock Exchange (NEPSE), reads that a total of 629,700 unit shares of 89 companies were traded over the week. The transactions equaled Rs 293.19 million, which exceeded last week´s turnover by about 24 percent. Of the total transactions this week, a turnover of category A companies alone totaled Rs 107.80 million, about 37 percent of the total turnover.
Group-wise performance records show that commercial banks gained 18.43 points. Financial and others groups witnessed double-digit growth in their indices. Development bank and hydropower groups, however, lost over 43 and 20 points, respectively, over the week, along with insurance and manufacturing groups. Indices of hotels and trading groups, on the other hand, remained unchanged.
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