Himal Press 
KATHMANDU: Remittance inflows surged by 39.1% to Rs 1,062.93 billion over the first half of fiscal year 2025/26, compared to a modest 4.2 percent growth in the same period last year.
According to the latest Current Macroeconomic Situation Report published by the Nepal Rastra Bank (NRB) on Monday, remittance inflows in the sixth month (mid-December to mid-January) stood at Rs 192.62 billion, up from Rs 122.44 billion a year earlier.
In US dollar terms, remittance inflows rose by 32.3% to $7.50 billion, compared to a 2.7% increase in the corresponding period of the previous fiscal year.
According to the report, the number of Nepali workers taking approval for foreign employment declined to 206,807, down from 230,439 last year. However, approvals for renewed entry increased to 194,733 from 162,628.
The NRB said the current account remained in a surplus of Rs 429.91 billion in the review period, more than double the Rs 165.67 billion surplus recorded a year earlier. In dollar terms, the surplus stood at $3.03 billion. Net capital transfers rose to Rs 10.76 billion, while foreign direct investment (equity only) increased to Rs 8.17 billion from Rs 6.48 billion last year.
Likewise, the balance of payments (BoP) also posted a strong surplus of Rs 501.24 billion, compared to Rs 249.26 billion in the same period of the previous year.
Gross foreign exchange reserves increased by 21.1% to Rs 3,242.45 billion by mid-January 2026. In dollar terms, reserves rose to $22.47 billion.
The reserves are sufficient to cover 21.4 months of merchandise imports and 18.1 months of merchandise and services imports, according to the report.
