Data from Nepal Rastra Bank's July 2026 macroeconomic report show that year-on-year consumer price inflation reached 5.04% in mid-May 2026, rising from 4.47% recorded in the prior month. This is the highest inflation reading since January 2025. Non-food and services inflation was slightly higher at 5.26%, while food and beverage inflation stood at 4.63%.
Despite the uptick, the average CPI-based inflation over the full ten-month period of fiscal year 2025/26 remained at 2.66%. The NRB's newly released monetary policy for FY2026/27 projects average inflation at around 5.5% for the coming year, citing potential upside risks from geopolitical tensions and inflationary pressures in India.