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The price of gold has dropped by Rs 300 per tola in the domestic market on Wednesday. According to the Federation of Nepal Gold and Silver Dealers’ Association, the yellow bullion is being traded at Rs 103, 200 per tola today. It was traded at Rs 103, 500 per tola on Friday. Meanwhile, tejabi gold is being traded at Rs 102, 700 per tola today. Similarly, the silver is being traded at Rs 1, 365 per tola.

The Nepal Stock Exchange (Nepse) crossed the 2200 mark on Monday for the first time in the last seven and a half months. Backed by impressive growth in the demand for shares of the hydropower sector, the Nepse index closed at 2211.38 points on the second day of the trading week. The last time when the Nepse index was over 2200 points was on May 27, 2022. Crossing this level has been seen as 'psychologically important' for stock investors as many are hoping for a bull market rally in the coming days. On Monday, the Nepse posted a gain of 2.16 percent while daily turnover stood at Rs 5.31 billion. With the investors continuing buying of shares on the back of the Nepal Rastra Bank amending guidelines on working capital loans on Wednesday and hopes that banks will reduce interest rates for the month of Magh, the stock market ended the first trading day of the week with a gain of 46.76 points. There has been an increment in the volume of traded shares in the past week. And, on Sunday, the number of traded shares increased by 16 percent compared to that of last Thursday. A total of 14.67 million shares were traded on Monday compared to 12.48 million shares of Sunday. Except for hotel and tourism, all the other sub-indices turned green on Thursday with the hydropower sub-index recording the highest 4.94 percent gain. Ridi Power Company recorded the highest turnover of Rs 206.8 million while the shares of Ngadi Group Power Limited were the most traded. On Monday, seven hydropower companies' share prices hit the positive circuit after increasing by 10 percent while seven other hydropower companies' share prices rose by more than nine percent. The share price of Barun Hydropower Company, Khanikhola Hydropower Company, Chhyangdi Hydropower, Joshi Hydropower Development Company, Himalayan Urja Bikas Company, Union Hydropower Limited, and Singati Hydro Energy Limited increased by 10 percent hitting the circuit breaker. The confidence of stock investors returned after the new government assured that it would address problems in liquidity management and will work to bring down the persistently higher interest rates. With the liquidity in the banking sector gradually improving, stock investors said they are now getting phones from the banks and financial institutions (BFIs) requesting them to take margin loans. As per Nepal Rastra Bank data, the banking system currently has Rs 12 billion in excess liquidity which indicates. This indicates interest rates will come down in the coming days.  

The Nepal Stock Exchange (NEPSE) plunged by 21. 34 points to close at 2,190.42 points on Tuesday. Similarly, the sensitive index dropped by 0. 77 points to close at 419. 14 points. A total of 20,843,952 unit shares of 254 companies were traded for Rs 7. 65 billion. Meanwhile, Barahi Hydropower Public Limited was the top gainer today with its price surging by 9. 99 percent. At the end of the day, the total market capitalization stood at Rs 3. 16 trillion.

The Airlines Operators Association of Nepal (AOAN) has reduced airfares following Nepal Oil Corporation (NOC)'s decision to slash the aviation fuel price. AOAN on Monday said that the reduced airfares will come into effect from January 11. According to AOAN, the airfare on the Kathmandu-Dhangadhi route has come down by Rs 885 while the airfare on the Kathmandu-Simara sector has been reduced by Rs 180. Likewise, the airfare for mountain flights has come down by Rs 685. As the government controls the price of a plane ticket and airlines are not allowed to increase the airfare, domestic airlines generally increase or decrease the fuel surcharge in response to the fluctuation in the fuel price hike. The fuel surcharge is revised if fuel prices fluctuate by at least Rs 4 per liter. According to domestic airline operators, fuel prices account for up to 40 percent of the total cost of operations in Nepal. NOC slashed prices of petrol, diesel, kerosene, and aviation fuel (for domestic & international airliners) on Sunday. The meeting of the oil monopoly's board decided to reduce prices of petrol, diesel, and kerosene by Rs 3 per liter each. Similarly, the price of aviation fuel for domestic airlines has been slashed by Rs 20 per liter and for international airlines by Rs 30 per liter. With the new pricing, a liter of petrol will cost Rs 175, and diesel and kerosene will cost Rs 172. As per the revised price, the price of aviation fuel for domestic airlines is now Rs 170 per liter and for international airlines is USD 1.42 per liter. The price of LPG gas has remained the same, which is Rs 1,800 per cylinder. The NOC revised the prices following instruction from Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal who on last Thursday had instructed the secretary at the Ministry of Industry, Commerce, and Supplies to reduce the price of petroleum products. The secretary at the Ministry of Industry, Commerce, and Supplies chairs the NOC board.