Kathmandu: The current account achieved a surplus of Rs 210.22 billion in the first nine months of the fiscal year 2024/25, compared to a surplus of Rs 179.83 billion in the same period of the previous year. In terms of US Dollars, the surplus stood at 1.55 billion, up from 1.35 billion during the same period last year.
According to National News Agency Nepal, the Nepal Rastra Bank (NRB) outlined these figures in its Review of the Monetary Policy for the current fiscal year. The Balance of Payments (BOP) recorded a surplus of Rs 346.23 billion during the nine-month period of FY 2024/25, slightly down from Rs 365.16 billion in the previous year. In US Dollar terms, the BOP surplus was 2.55 billion, compared to 2.75 billion in the previous year.
The NRB report highlighted that net capital transfer totaled Rs 7.71 billion in the review period, up from Rs 4.78 billion in the previous year. Foreign direct investment (FDI) in equity alone reached Rs 8.96 billion, increasing from Rs 6.49 billion in the same period last year.
The gross foreign exchange reserves experienced an increase of 18.9 percent, reaching Rs 2426.84 billion in mid-April 2025 from Rs 2041.10 billion in mid-July 2024. In US Dollar terms, this represents a 15.4 percent rise from 15.27 billion to 17.63 billion. Reserves held by the NRB increased by 15.6 percent to Rs 2136.46 billion, while reserves held by other banks and financial institutions saw a 50.8 percent rise to Rs 290.38 billion.
The proportion of Indian currency in the total reserves was reported at 20.4 percent as of mid-April 2025. The foreign exchange reserves within the banking sector are adequate to cover 17.1 months of prospective merchandise imports and 14.2 months when both merchandise and services imports are considered. The mid-April 2025 ratios for reserves-to-GDP, reserves-to-imports, and reserves-to-M2 were 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.