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The price of gold has increased by Rs 1,800 per tola in the domestic market on Friday.

According to the Federation of Nepal Gold and Silver Dealers’ Association, the precious yellow metal is being traded at Rs 115, 500 per tola today. It was traded at Rs 113, 700 per tola on Thursday.

Meanwhile, tejabi gold is being traded at Rs 114, 950 per tola. It was traded at Rs 113, 150 per tola.

Similarly, the silver is being traded at Rs 1,400 per tola today. 

Karveer Budha, a resident of Rajutara in Junichande-7, Jajarkot, was hopeful of receiving rice from the government's depot for Dashain celebrations. But his hopes were dashed as officials informed the locals that the depot would not be able to distribute rice before the Dashain festival.

The disappointment is palpable among the locals who are now uncertain about how to secure rice for the Dashain festivities. Rice is already scarce in the local market, and if available, it comes at a high price compared to the subsidized rice distributed by government depots.

The Food Management and Trading Company (FMTC) has been distributing subsidized rice in various remote areas of the country. However, residents like Karveer are dismayed as the state-owned food company has failed to supply rice to depots in different remote villages. “The Dashain festival is upon us, but we don’t have a grain of rice at home. The government’s depot has remained closed for three months. How can we celebrate in this situation?” lamented Ramkali Gharti of Rajutara.

 The shortage is not limited to the depot in Rajutara. Government depots in Tangachaur, Kauli, and Nayakbada of Barekot, Chaukha of Nalgad, Tapuchaur of Kushe, and Dashera and Pajaru of Chhedagad have all run out of stock. Locals who depend on these depots now face uncertainty about celebrating Dashain, all due to the FMTC’s failure to initiate the tendering process for rice supply on time.

The remote municipalities of Nalgad and Chhedegad, as well as Kushe and Junichande rural municipalities, are grappling with severe food grain shortages. With their summer crops not yet ready for harvest and the FMTC failing to supply food to its depots, residents are facing a challenging situation.

The FMTC has recently chosen bidders to supply food grains to its remote depots. “We selected the successful bidder 10 days ago, and our head office has given us 15 days to sign an agreement with them,” said Ram Prasad Poudel, the chief of FMTC Jajarkot Office. “We urged the company to commence rice transportation immediately, but they are refusing citing bad road conditions due to the monsoon.”

A recent meeting of the District Food Management Committee had requested the relevant authorities to ensure rice supply to government depots before the Dashain festival.

FMTC Jajarkot Office has appointed MB Builders of Jajarkot to transport rice to government depots in Chaukha, Tapuchaur, and Tangachaur. Similarly, Anjila Traders from Nepalgunj have been roped in to transport rice to depots in Pajaru, Dashera, Nayakbada, and Rajutara. According to Poudel of FMTC Jajarkot Office, they will supply 750 quintals to Chaukha, 1,000 quintals to Nayakbada, 500 quintals to Tapuchaur, 750 quintals to Tangachaur, 700 quintals to Rajutara, and 500 quintals each to Dashera and Pajaru.

While Pajaru and Dashera will receive their rice supply from Nepalganj, other depots will receive their supply from the district headquarters Khalanga. Locals prefer thick rice due to its affordability. However, the FMTC Jajarkot Office has only fine rice in stock which is being distributed in the district headquarters, Khalanga. The situation has left locals in a difficult position. As paddy is not cultivated in most remote areas of Jajarkot, locals rely on government depots for their rice supply. However, the FMTC consistently fails to transport rice to these depots on time due to inadequate preparation and an apparent lack of concern for the plight of people in remote areas.

The Nepal Stock Exchange (Nepse) index has been enduring a prolonged period of decline over the past two years.

The benchmark index soared to an all-time high of 3,198.60 points on 18 Aug 2021. But now, two years later, the Nepse index languishes below the 1,900-point threshold. Daily transactions on the exchange reached Rs 21.64bn on that record-breaking day in August 2021. It plummeted to just above Rs 1bn as of Tuesday. Moreover, the total market capitalization—the total worth of shares listed on the secondary market—has declined from Rs 4.46trn in Aug 2021 to slightly over Rs 1trn on Tuesday. This substantial decrease equates to a loss of Rs 3.5trn in the value of listed shares over just two years, resulting in significant losses for investors.

However, it’s not just investors who have suffered losses; government revenue from the stock market has also seen a considerable drop during this period. According to data from CDS and Clearing Limited, the government collected Rs 14.13bn through capital gains tax (CGT) on share transactions in 2020/21. Such collection decreased to Rs 10.35bn in 2021/22 and further to a mere Rs 2.97bn in 2022/23. The government levies a CGT of 5 percent on profits from shares held for more than a year and 7.5 percent on those held for less than a year. The rates for institutional investors go as high as 10 percent.

Data provided by CDS & Clearing Ltd shows the government’s CGT revenue from share transactions grew from Rs 500.76m in 2017/18 to Rs 61.2m in 2018/19 and reached Rs 98.52bn in 2019/20. During the bull market, rising share prices led to increased investor profits, resulting in higher CGT revenue. However, with most investors now facing losses on share transactions, CGT revenue collection has suffered.

The benchmark Nepse index has been on a consistent downward trajectory since reaching its all-time high of 3,198.60 points on 18 Aug 2021. According to the stock investors, the stock market is not reviving because of the central bank's policy of capping mortgage loans. In the Monetary Policy for Fiscal Year 2022/23, the central bank said that investors could avail margin loans of up to a maximum of Rs 40m from one financial institution and Rs 120m in total. This provision compelled investors to settle loans exceeding the new ceiling, creating selling pressure on the market. This ultimately caused the stock market decline.

Although the central bank has recently relaxed this provision, allowing investors to avail margin loans of up to Rs 150m and institutions to avail loans of up to Rs 200m, it has failed to boost investor confidence. Market participants are advocating for the complete removal of the loan cap altogether.

In a clear indication of liquidity surplus in the banking system, most commercial banks have reduced interest rates on deposits for the month of Kartik, which begins on Wednesday.

As banks are flush with loanable funds, interbank lending rates have fallen below two percent. Taking advantage of these low rates and to absorb liquidity in the banking system, the government has increased domestic borrowing. It has already raised the debt it had targeted to raise in the second quarter.

The government has set a target of raising Rs 240bn internal domestic debt in the current fiscal year. Out of this amount, the central bank has already secured Rs 87.31bn. This includes Rs 35bn that the central bank had initially planned to raise in the second quarter, according to the Monetary Management Department of the NRB.

Out of the 20 commercial banks in operation, 13 have reduced interest rates on individual fixed deposits, while four have maintained the same interest rates as the previous month. Meanwhile, three have increased their interest rates.

Nepal SBI Bank, NMB Bank, and NIC Asia have raised interest rates on deposits due to pressure on their credit-deposit ratios.

Himalayan Bank, NIC Asia Bank, and NMB Bank will offer the highest interest rate of 11.003 percent on individual fixed deposits. In Ashwin, from mid-September to mid-October, Himalayan offered an interest rate of 11.054 percent, while NIC Asia and NMB Bank offered 10.896 percent and 9.99 percent, respectively.

On the other hand, Standard Chartered Bank will offer the lowest interest rate at 9.22 percent on individual fixed deposits. Likewise, Everest Bank, Prabhu Bank, Sanima Bank, and Nepal Bank Ltd will offer an interest rate of 9.224 percent, while Rastriya Banijya Bank Ltd will offer 9.5 percent, Agricultural Development Bank will offer 9.76 percent, and Citizens Bank Ltd will offer 9.95 percent interest on individual fixed deposits.

Similarly, Siddhartha Bank Ltd and Machhapuchchhre are maintaining the same interest rates as last month, which is 9.99 percent.

Nepal Rastra Bank (NRB) allows banks and financial institutions to adjust their interest rates by a maximum of 10 percent each month.

Similarly, interest rate on institutional fixed deposits should be two percentage points lower than interest rate on individual fixed deposits.