KATHMANDU: Nepal’s current account recorded a surplus of Rs 210.22 billion during the first nine months of the current fiscal year 2024/25, up from a surplus of Rs 179.83 billion in the same period last year.
In US dollar terms, the current account posted a surplus of $1.55 billion, compared to $1.35 billion during the same period of the previous fiscal year.
This data was released by Nepal Rastra Bank (NRB) in its Review of the Monetary Policy of the Current Fiscal Year 2024/25.
The Balance of Payments (BOP) also remained positive, though it slightly declined to a surplus of Rs 346.23 billion from Rs 365.16 billion recorded in the corresponding period of the previous year. In US dollar terms, the BOP surplus stood at $2.55 billion, down from $2.75 billion a year earlier.
During the review period, net capital transfers amounted to Rs 7.71 billion, up from Rs 4.78 billion in the same period last year. Similarly, foreign direct investment (FDI) inflows, limited to equity only, totaled Rs 8.96 billion, compared to Rs 6.49 billion during the same period of the previous year.
Gross foreign exchange reserves rose by 18.9 percent, reaching Rs 2,426.84 billion in mid-April 2025, up from Rs 2,041.10 billion in mid-July 2024. In US dollar terms, reserves increased by 15.4 percent to $17.63 billion from $15.27 billion over the same period.
Of the total reserves, those held by the NRB increased by 15.6 percent to Rs 2,136.46 billion in mid-April 2025 from Rs 1,848.55 billion in mid-July 2024. Meanwhile, reserves held by banks and financial institutions (excluding the NRB) surged by 50.8 percent to Rs 290.38 billion from Rs 192.55 billion.
The share of Indian currency in the total reserves stood at 20.4 percent as of mid-April 2025.
Based on imports over the nine-month period of FY 2024/25, the banking sector’s foreign exchange reserves are sufficient to cover 17.1 months of prospective merchandise imports and 14.2 months of merchandise and services imports.
As of mid-April 2025, the ratios of reserves to GDP, reserves to imports, and reserves to M2 stood at 39.7 percent, 118.7 percent, and 32.8 percent, respectively—up from 35.8 percent, 108.6 percent, and 29.3 percent in mid-July 2024.
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