Nepal's forex reserve hits $2.61b

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KATHMANDU, June 9 (Xinhua): Nepal's foreign currency reserve has scaled up to 171.56 billion Nepali rupees (around 2.61 billion US dollars), local newspaper The Kathmandu Post reported today.
Remittance stood at 72.39 billion Nepali rupees during the first nine months of the current fiscal year and the amount was 3 per cent more than the same period last year.
According to Nepal Rastra Bank (NRB), the central bank, the amount however is less than 177.94 billion Nepali rupees recorded a month ago mainly due to the 4.44 per cent appreciation of Nepalese currency against the US dollar within a month.
The official exchange rate in mid-April was one US dollar against 68.40 Nepali rupees and the rate slipped to 65.46 Nepali rupees within a month.
According to a NRB official, the accumulative appreciation of the domestic currency against the US dollar has scaled up to 13.26 per cent within the current fiscal year, starting in mid-July.