Nepal’s inflation jumped to 11.1% in the 11th month of last fiscal year from the previous month’s 10% as the prices of both food and non-food items surged, Nepal’s central bank has said.
The last fiscal year 2015-16 concluded on July 15.
Nepal Rastra Bank (NRB), the central bank of the country, said prices of food items surged to double digit in mid-June ( end of the 11th month) while standing at single digit in the previous month. Prices of non-food items also witnessed double digit growth in the 11th month of the last fiscal year, Xinhua reports.
The higher rate of increase in price indices of vegetables, pulses and legumes, drinks among food items and clothes and footwear from among non-food items exerted an upward pressure on overall inflation during the review period, the central bank said in its latest macro-economic report released on Friday.
The central bank has unveiled the monetary policy for the next fiscal year 2016-17 by increasing the minimum lending requirement for commercial banks in agriculture and hydropower sectors.
As per the policy, the commercial banks have to ensure that they lend at least 15% of their entire loan portfolio in these two sectors within mid-July 2017. Earlier, they were told to maintain the lending in these sectors at 12% within the same deadline.