KATHMANDU, July 20: The Nepali currency fell to a record low against the US dollar with Nepal Rastra Bank (NRB) fixing the exchange rate at Rs 134.17 per dollar for Saturday.
The NRB record shows that the buying rate of Nepali rupee against the USD is fixed at Rs 133.57 per dollar. The selling rate has been fixed at 134.17 per dollar, up from Rs 134.15 per dollar on Friday.
According to the NRB, the price of the US dollar stood at Rs 133.06 per dollar in November 2022. It plunged to Rs 130.90 per dollar in April 2023. In the past 15 months, the price was seen nominally increasing over the period.
According to an Indian media, the price of the US dollar of late is influenced by elevated oil prices and increased demand for dollars from Indian importers. Since the Nepali currency is pegged to the Indian currency, the weakening of the Indian currency against the dollar has led to the depreciation of the Nepali currency.
The overall impact of the rising dollar is more detrimental than beneficial for Nepal. Being an economy with high reliance on imported goods, the domestic market could be affected by higher prices for goods purchased in dollars from abroad. It increases the market price of goods as the country imports most of the raw materials including the capital goods necessary to produce finished goods, economists said.
