KATHMANDU, May 11: Nepal’s gross foreign exchange reserves increased 30.5 percent to Rs 3.494 trillion in mid-April 2026, sufficient to cover the prospective merchandise imports of 21.8 months, and merchandise and services imports of 18.4 months.
The Current Macroeconomic and Financial Situation of Nepal unveiled by Nepal Rastra Bank (NRB) on Monday shows that foreign currency reserves reached a new height from Rs 2.677 trillion in mid-July 2025. In US dollar terms, the gross foreign exchange reserves increased 20.8 percent to 23.55 billion from 19.50 billion in the review period.
Nepal’s foreign currency reserve reaches USD 18.65 billion
The ratio of reserves-to-GDP has reached 57.2 percent. Similarly, reserves-to-imports and reserves-to-broad money supply stood at 153.1 percent and 41.2 percent, respectively as of mid-April.
Of the amount, the reserves held by the NRB increased 27.7 percent to Rs 3.082 trillion from Rs 2.414 trillion in nine months. Reserves held by banks and financial institutions (except NRB) increased 56.8 percent to Rs 412.32 billion from Rs 263.04 billion. The share of Indian currency in total reserves stood at 20.4 percent as per the latest NRB data.
The improvement in foreign currency reserves resulted from the strengthening of the balance of payments (BoP) of the country. Nepal’s BoP remained at a surplus of Rs 731.16 billion, up from the surplus of Rs 346.23 billion a year ago. In US Dollar terms, the BoP remained in a surplus of 5.10 billion, compared to a surplus of 2.55 billion in the review period.
Likewise, the current account remained at a surplus of Rs 618.68 billion in mid-April, an increase from surplus of Rs 222.67 billion in the same period of the previous year. In US Dollar terms, the current account registered a surplus of 4.32 billion, compared to a surplus of 1.64 billion in the review period.
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