Himal Press 
KATHMANDU: Foreign exchange reserves have reached a record high in the first nine months of the fiscal year 2025/26, driven largely by a sharp rise in remittance inflows, according to the latest macroeconomic situation report released by the Nepal Rastra Bank (NRB) on Monday.
The central bank said gross foreign exchange reserves increased by 30.5% to Rs 3,494.73 billion in mid-April 2026 from Rs 2,677.68 billion in mid-July 2025. In US dollar terms, reserves rose 20.8% to $23.55 billion from $19.50 billion during the same period.
The reserves had plunged to around $9.59 billion in April 2022. This prompted the government to impose strict import restrictions on ‘luxury and non-essential goods’, including high-end motorcycles, vehicles and alcohol, amid concerns over fiscal stability and dwindling foreign current reserves.
According to the report, remittance inflows surged 39.1% to Rs 1,659.41 billion in the first nine months of the current fiscal year, compared to a 10.2% increase during the same period last year. Remittances in the Nepali month of Chaitra (mid-March and mid-April) alone stood at Rs 209.75 billion, up from Rs 139.54 billion a year earlier.
In US dollar terms, remittance inflows climbed 31.9% to $11.55 billion during the review period, compared to a 7.5% increase in the corresponding period of the previous fiscal year.
Of the total foreign exchange reserves, those maintained at the Nepal Rastra Bank increased by 27.7% to Rs 3,082.41 billion in mid-April 2026, from Rs 2,414.64 billion in mid-July 2025. Reserves held by banks and financial institutions, excluding the central bank, jumped 56.8% to Rs 412.32 billion. Indian currency accounts for 20.4% of total reserves.
Apart from remittances, tourism and merchandise exports are the primary sources of Nepal’s foreign exchange earnings. However, travel income declined by 3.8% to Rs 64.10 billion during the review period from Rs 66.66 billion a year earlier.
Meanwhile, merchandise exports increased 18.5% to Rs 222.94 billion in the first nine months of the fiscal year, compared to a robust 65.2% growth in the same period last year.
Earnings from software and IT exports are also substantial. Although the central bank’s data does not include IT exports figures in its macroeconomic situation report, Nepal’s annual software and IT exports exceeded $1 billion in 2025, according to the Nepal Association of Software and IT (NAS-IT).
