BoP records surplus of Rs. 11.78 billion

BoP records surplus of Rs. 11.78 b as trade deficit goes up

Kathmandu,April 17– The overall Balance of Payments (BoP) recorded a surplus of Rs. 11.78 billion during eight months of the current fiscal year 2012/13 compared to a surplus of Rs. 81.09 billion during the same period of the previous year.

According to the current macroeconomic situation based on the eight months of the FY 2012/13 published by Nepal Rastra Bank, the current account posted a surplus of Rs. 9.50 billion in the review period compared to a surplus of Rs. 37.51 billion in the same period of the previous year.

The decline in surplus in the current account was largely 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, said central bank in a report.

The Free on Board (FoB) based merchandise trade deficit increased by 25.4 percent to Rs. 297.87 billion during eight months of 2012/13 while such deficit had grown up by 16.9 percent in the same period of the previous year.

The net service income posted a surplus of Rs. 2.02 billion in the review period in contrast to a surplus of Rs. 11.07 billion in the same period of the previous year. Net transfers registered a growth of 16.8 percent to Rs. 299.94 billion in the review period compared to a growth of 29.7 percent in the same period of the previous year.

Under the transfers, workers’ remittances surged by 22.2 percent to Rs. 266.09 billion compared to an increase of 34.7 percent in the same period of the previous year.

On a monthly basis, remittance inflows increased by 49.9 percent in February/March compared to the value of the previous month of this fiscal year.