CURRENCY
Partially convertible Nepali rupee weakened by 50 paisa vis-à-vis US dollar over the week and closed at Rs 80.40 per dollar on Friday as Indian rupee with which Nepali currency is pegged depreciated marginally against the greenback.
Nepal Rastra Bank, the central bank, had fixed the exchange rate of a US dollar at Rs 79.90 on Sunday. However, Nepali currency continued to depreciate over the next five days. On Tuesday, the exchange rate dropped to Rs 80.50 for a dollar and declined further to Rs 80.85 on Thursday. However, rupee gained marginally on Friday and was closed at Rs 80.40 per dollar.
Nepali rupee gained nine paisa against the euro over the week and was closed at Rs 104.74 per euro on Friday. But it depreciated by Rs 1.46 vis-à-vis pound sterling over the week and closed at Rs 116.89 per pound sterling Friday. As per the existing open market exchange rate policy, rates quoted by different banks, however, may differ.
BULLION
Gold price soared by Rs 98.50 per gram over the week and closed at Rs 23,835 per 10 grams on Friday in the domestic market. Nepal Gold and Silver Dealers´ Association attributed the steep rise in the price to the rise in the price of gold in the international market amid downturn in major stock exchanges across the world.
According to the association, gold was traded at Rs 22,850 on Sunday. While the price remained constant on Monday, it gained Rs 650 per 10 grams overnight and was traded at Rs 23,500 on Tuesday. On Wednesday, the price dropped by Rs 50 per 10 grams, but only to gain Rs 210 per 10 grams overnight on Thursday. It further went up by Rs 175 on Friday, when gold was traded at Rs 23,835 per 10 grams.
Likewise, the price of silver also increased from Rs 344 of Sunday to Rs 351.50 per 10 grams on Friday this week. As Nepal fulfills its bullion demand through imports, any fluctuation in the prices of gold and silver in the international market directly affects the prices in the domestic market.
STOCK MARKET
After a brief recovery last week, country´s sole stock market - Nepal Stock Exchange (NEPSE) - lost 2.93 points in its index over the week. It closed at 657.02 points on Thursday amid eroding investor confidence.
Weekly report of NEPSE shows that a total of 302,500 units of shares of 95 companies were traded at its floor. The turnover for the week totaled to Rs 218.20 million, which was down from Rs 123.50 million recorded last week. Of the total transactions, turnover of category ´A´ companies alone valued at Rs 115.80 million, which was 53.08 percent of the total turnover this week.
Performance record of different groups registered at NEPSE further shows that the index for commercial banks went up by 1.05 points over the week, along with the index for hotels group. Indices for development banks, finances, insurance, manufacturing, hydropower and others groups went down, whereas the index of trading group remained unchanged throughout the week.
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