August 18: Nepal’s current account remained at a deficit of Rs 623.33 billion during Fiscal Year 2021/22 compared to a deficit of Rs 333.67 billion in the previous year.

According to the latest report of Nepal Rastra Bank, capital transfer decreased 34.5 percent to Rs 9.99 billion and net foreign direct investment (FDI) decreased 4.9 percent to Rs 18.56 billion in the review year.

In the previous year, capital transfer and net FDI amounted to Rs 15.26 billion and Rs 19.51 billion respectively, states the Current Macroeconomic and Financial Situation Report released by the central bank on Tuesday.

Likewise, the Balance of Payments (BOP) remained at a deficit of Rs 255.26 billion in the review year against a surplus of Rs 1.23 billion in the previous year. In the US dollar terms, the BOP remained at a deficit of 2.14 billion in the review year compared to a deficit of 3.1 million in the previous year.

Gross foreign exchange reserves decreased by 13.1 percent to Rs 1215.80 billion in mid-July 2022 from Rs 1399.03 billion in mid-July 2021, the report further stated. In the US dollar terms, the gross foreign exchange reserves decreased 18.9 percent to 9.54 billion in mid-July 2022 from 11.75 billion in mid-July 2021.

Of the total foreign exchange reserves, the reserves held by NRB decreased by 15.1 percent to Rs 1056.39 billion in mid-July 2022 from Rs 1244.63 billion in mid-July 2021. Reserves held by banks and financial institutions (except NRB) increased 3.2 percent to Rs 159.41 billion in mid-July 2022 from Rs 154.39 billion in mid-July 2021. The share of Indian currency in total reserves stood at 23.6 percent in mid-July 2022.