Nepal’s annual consumer price inflation rose to 6.34 percent in the second month of the current fiscal year, up from 5.96 percent in the previous month, according to Nepal Rastra Bank. The central bank’s latest macroeconomic report attributes the increase mainly to higher costs for essential food commodities and non-food services. Inflation was 1.87 percent in the same month of the previous fiscal year, highlighting a sharp year-on-year rise.
Inflation climbs from the previous month
The rate increased by 0.38 percentage points from the previous month’s 5.96 percent. The latest figure indicates that consumer prices were rising faster than they had in the preceding month, according to the figures cited by the central bank. The report identifies higher prices for essential food commodities and non-food services as the main factors behind the change.
The central bank’s figures cover annual consumer price inflation in the second month of the current fiscal year. They show a notable difference from the same point a year earlier, when inflation stood at 1.87 percent. The latest rate is 4.47 percentage points higher than that earlier figure. The comparison reflects the scale of the rise over the year, while the month-to-month figures show a more recent increase from 5.96 percent to 6.34 percent.
Food commodities and services cited as drivers
Nepal Rastra Bank’s macroeconomic report points to increases in the costs of essential food commodities and non-food services as the main reasons inflation rose. The report’s explanation identifies pressure in both categories, rather than attributing the overall change to a single item or sector. No further breakdown of the individual commodities or services contributing to the increase is provided in the available figures.
The rise in essential food costs is a key part of the central bank’s account of the inflation increase. The report also cites non-food services, indicating that the factors behind the higher rate extended beyond food commodities. Together, these categories account for the principal drivers identified by the central bank, although the summary figures do not specify how much each contributed to the 6.34 percent rate.
Annual comparison shows a sharp increase
The contrast with the same month of the previous fiscal year is pronounced. Inflation at that time was 1.87 percent, compared with 6.34 percent in the latest report. That is an increase of 4.47 percentage points over the year. The difference is substantially larger than the 0.38-percentage-point rise recorded between the previous month and the current reading.
The figures therefore show two separate changes: inflation increased from one month to the next, and it was considerably higher than at the same stage a year earlier. Nepal Rastra Bank’s report links the latest rise mainly to higher costs for essential food commodities and non-food services. The 6.34 percent figure is the central bank’s reported annual consumer price inflation rate for the second month of the current fiscal year.
