Rupee falls for 4th straight week

KATHMANDU, Nov 23: Nepali rupee weakened against US dollar for the fourth straight week this week, as India currency, with which it is pegged, lost value against the greenback amid dollar buying by oil refiners and US fiscal worries.



Gold, on the other hand, continued its rally as weakening of rupee and rise in its international prices made its import costlier.[break]



Currency



Nepali rupee shed 43 paisa against a US dollar over the week, causing imports to be expensive but raising receipts for exporters and remittance receivers. On Friday, a US dollar was exchanged at Rs 88.54.



Nepal Rastra Bank, central monetary authority, had set the exchange rate of a dollar at Rs 88.11 when currency trading opened on Sunday. But with US fiscal worries and Europe debt plight taking the centre stage of the global economy, demand for dollar rose in India, causing Nepali rupee to shed 44 paisa overnight on Monday. Though rupee regained a paisa on Tuesday and rose by another 18 paisa on Wednesday, it snapped two-day rally shedding 19 paisa on Thursday amid dollar buying by oil refineries in India. Rupee albeit gained a paisa compared to the previous day when the market closed on Friday this week.



Likewise, rupee fell by Rs 1.45 against a euro and Rs 1.60 against a pound sterling over the week. A euro was exchanged at Rs 113.83 on Friday, while a pound sterling closed at Rs 141.37 this week.



Bullion



Gold became expensive by Rs 420 per 10 grams (or Rs 490 per tola) this week as its international price soared amid worries over US fiscal problem and weaker dollar. The yellow metal was traded at Rs 52,170 per 10 grams (that is Rs 60,851 per tola) on Friday.



Bullion trading had opened this week with gold priced at Rs 51,750 per 10 grams on Sunday. As US fiscal worries and euro zone troubles weakened global investors´ confidence in currency markets, gold price rose by Rs 120 per 10 grams on Monday and soared by another Rs 255 per 10 grams on Tuesday. Though the price remained unchanged on Wednesday, the yellow metal became expensive by Rs 45 per 10 grams on Thursday. Nepal Gold and Silver Dealers´ Association that sets the gold price in Nepal left its price unchanged when the market closed this week on Friday.



Silver also increased by Rs 26 per 10 grams this week. On Friday, silver was traded at Rs 1,029 per 10 grams.

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