By A Staff Reporter
Kathmandu, Mar. 7: Nepal Rastra Bank (NRB) has halved the gold import quota.
Issuing a circular Sunday, the NRB informed all the concerned banks and financial institutions about the reduction of the import quota. The central bank has now made arrangements to import only 10 kg of gold daily. Earlier, the NRB had allowed import of 20 kg gold a day.

The new provision came into effect immediately after the issuance of the circular, said the NRB.
Of late, the NRB has been tightening imports of various commodities. As foreign exchange reserves are diminishing, the NRB has started tightening imports.

According to the foreign trade statistics of the Department of Customs, the import of gold has increased significantly this year. It said gold worth Rs. 25.21 billion was imported in the first seven months of the current fiscal year. Around 3,600 kilograms of gold was imported during the review period.

A total of 2,100 kg of gold worth Rs. 14.95 billion was imported in the corresponding period last fiscal year.
In the meantime, the country imported around 134,000 kg of silver worth Rs. 12.69 billion during the first seven months of the current fiscal year. Around 15,500 kg of silver worth Rs. 15.20 billion was imported during the same period last fiscal year.