Himal Press 
KATHMANDU: Remittance inflows increased by 33.1% to Rs 352.08 billion over the first two months of 2025/26.
According to the Current Macroeconomic Situation Report released by the Nepal Rastra Bank (NRB) on Tuesday, remittance inflows increased at a slower rate of 15.8% in the same period as the previous year.
Nepal received Rs 174.67 billion in remittances in the second month of the 2025/26 fiscal year, compared to Rs 127.99 billion in the same month of the 2024/25 fiscal year.
In US dollar terms, remittance inflows increased by 27.6% to $2.52 billion.
The number of Nepali workers taking first-time approval for foreign employment stood at 90,198 in the review period. According to the report, another 45,884 workers took re-entry approval during the period.
Meanwhile, the current account remained at a surplus of Rs 130.69 billion in the review period, compared to a surplus of Rs 54.41 billion in the same period of the previous fiscal year. In US dollar terms, the current account registered a surplus of $934.7 million in the review period of the current fiscal year.
Similarly, Nepal received Rs 1.27 billion worth of foreign direct investment (equity only) in the review period, down from Rs 2.71 billion in the same period of the previous fiscal year.
Gross foreign exchange reserves increased by 7.6% to Rs 2,881.35 billion in mid-September 2025 from Rs 2,677.68 billion in mid-July 2025. In US dollar terms, gross foreign exchange reserves increased by 4.7% to $20.41 billion in mid-September 2025 from $19.50 billion in mid-July 2025.
Of the total foreign exchange reserves, the reserves held by the central bank increased by 6.9% to Rs 2,582.38 billion in mid-September 2025 from Rs 2,414.64 billion in mid-July 2025. Similarly, reserves held by other banks and financial institutions increased by 13.7% to Rs 298.97 billion in mid-September 2025 from Rs 263.04 billion in mid-July 2025.
Based on the imports of the first two months of 2025/26, the foreign exchange reserves of the banking sector are sufficient to cover prospective merchandise imports for 19.7 months and merchandise and services imports for 16 months, according to the report.
