Himal Press 
KATHMANDU: Remittance inflows to Nepal surged by nearly 40% in the first seven months of the fiscal year 2025/26.
According to the Current Macroeconomic and Financial Situation Report released by the Nepal Rastra Bank on Wednesday, remittance inflows increased by 39.8% to Rs 1261.01 billion during the review. In the same period of the previous fiscal year, remittances had surged by only 7.5%.
In US dollar terms, remittances grew 33% to $8.86 billion. During the Nepali month of Magh (Mid-January to mid-February) alone, remittances worth Rs 198.08 billion entered the country, up from Rs 137.50 billion a year earlier.
Net secondary income reached Rs. 1384.27 billion, significantly higher than Rs 986.34 billion recorded in the corresponding period of the previous fiscal year.
The number of Nepalis leaving for foreign employment declined slightly during the period. A total of 245,153 workers obtained first-time labour permits, while 227,424 received re-entry approvals, compared to 274,662 and 190,886, respectively, in the same period of the previous fiscal year.
Despite strong remittance inflows, the services sector remained under pressure. Net services income recorded a deficit of Rs 50.16 billion, widening from Rs 36.17 billion in the same period last year. Under the services account, travel income fell by 2.6% to Rs 47.99 billion, while travel payments rose 5.1% to Rs 121.27 billion, including Rs 77.57 billion spent on education abroad, indicating continued outflow of foreign currency for study and travel.
However, the current account surplus reached Rs 493.78 billion in the review period, up from Rs 184.14 billion in the same period last year. Likewise, the Balance of Payments surplus was recorded at Rs 572.73 billion. Such surplus was at Rs 284.41 billion in the same period of the previous fiscal year.
Foreign direct investment (equity only) also surged to Rs 10.22 billion in the review period, up from Rs 7.43 billion last year.
Forex reserves rise sharply
Foreign exchange reserves also improved during the review period.
Total reserves reached Rs 3,302.66 billion in mid-February 2026, up 23.3% from mid-July 2025.
In US dollar terms, foreign exchange reserves stood at 22.76 billion dollars.
According to the central bank, the reserves are sufficient to cover 21.3 months of merchandise imports and 18 months of goods and services imports.
