Consumer price inflation drops to 4.82 pc in mid-October: NRB

KATHMANDU: The year-on-year consumer price inflation has dropped to 4.82% as of mid-October 2024, compared to 7.50% a year earlier, according to the latest macroeconomic and financial situation report released by Nepal Rastra Bank (NRB) on Tuesday.

Food and beverage inflation was recorded at 7.18%, while non-food and service inflation stood at 3.49% during the first three months of the current fiscal year 2024/25. In comparison, the price indices for these groups had risen by 8.48% and 6.85%, respectively, during the same period of the previous fiscal year.

Within the food and beverage category, the year-on-year price index for vegetables surged by 25.15%, for pulses and legumes by 10%, for cereal grains and their products by 9.57%, and for ghee and oil by 4.98%. Conversely, the year-on-year price index for meat and fish decreased by 1.18%, for spices by 0.79%, and for sugar and sugar products by 0.78%.

In the non-food and services category, the year-on-year price index for miscellaneous goods and services increased by 10.49%, for alcoholic drinks by 6.32%, for clothes and footwear by 6.12%, and for furnishing and household equipment by 4.88%.

The year-on-year price index for rural areas increased by 5.00% over the three months, while in urban areas, it rose by 4.76%.

By province, the year-on-year consumer price inflation until mid-October in the current fiscal year was 6.26% in Koshi Province, 5.08% in Madhesh Province, 4.24% in Bagmati Province, 3.98% in Gandaki Province, 4.42% in Lumbini Province, 3.25% in Karnali Province, and 6.56% in Sudurpashchim Province.

In the review month, the year-on-year consumer price inflation in the Kathmandu Valley, Tarai, Hill, and Mountain regions increased to 4.50%, 5.23%, 4.32%, and 5.08%, respectively.