विदेशी मुद्रा सञ्चिति ३८ प्रतिशतले बढ्यो, नेपालको बाह्य क्षेत्र मजबुत बन्दैNepal's Foreign Exchange Reserves Jump 38%, External Sector Shows Strong Recovery

Kathmandu — Nepal's external economic position has shown remarkable improvement, according to the latest data released by Nepal Rastra Bank. In the first ten months of the current fiscal year 2082/83, foreign exchange reserves, balance of payments, and current account surplus have all recorded significant gains.

By the end of Baisakh, total foreign exchange reserves rose 38.3 percent to Rs 37 trillion 4 billion 550 million. At the end of Ashadh of the previous fiscal year, the reserves stood at Rs 26 trillion 77 billion 680 million. In US dollar terms, reserves grew 24 percent to reach 24.19 billion dollars. According to the central bank, the current reserve level is sufficient to cover 22.6 months of goods imports and 19.2 months of goods and services imports, which is considered comfortable by international standards.

Of the total reserves, Nepal Rastra Bank holds Rs 32 trillion 98 billion 380 million while banks and financial institutions hold Rs 4 trillion 6 billion 170 million. Indian currency accounts for 20.6 percent of total reserves.

The balance of payments position has also improved sharply. The surplus reached Rs 8 trillion 63 billion 560 million during the review period, nearly double the Rs 4 trillion 38 billion 520 million recorded in the same period last year. In dollar terms, the surplus stood at 5.98 billion dollars.

The current account surplus showed an even more dramatic jump. It reached Rs 7 trillion 29 billion 280 million compared to just Rs 2 trillion 72 billion 530 million in the same period of the previous year, a nearly threefold increase. In dollar terms, the current account surplus reached 5.05 billion dollars.

Foreign direct investment also picked up during the period. Equity-based FDI reached Rs 16 billion 960 million, up from Rs 10 billion 580 million in the same period last year.

Economists attribute the improvement primarily to strong growth in remittance inflows and better management of foreign currency earnings relative to imports. However, they caution that sustaining these gains over the long term will require greater focus on export promotion, tourism revenue expansion, and attracting more foreign investment into productive sectors.