CBN retains interest rate at 27.5%

The Central Bank of Nigeria, CBN, has retained the Monetary Policy Rate, MPR, its benchmark interest rate at 27.5%.

Olayemi Cardoso, governor of the CBN, disclosed this at the end of the Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) meeting of the apex bank on Thursday.

The apex bank also retained the Cash Reserve Ratio, CRR at 50 basis points and the liquidity ratio, LR, at 30 percent and the asymmetric corridor at +500/-100 basis points around the MPR; other monetary policy decisions were retained.

Cardoso explained that the rate pause was necessary following the recent inflation decline, which dropped to 24.48 percent in January after the Consumer Price Index rebase.

He said: “The committee was unanimous in its decision to hold all parameters and thus decided as follows: retain the MPR at 27.50%, retain the asymmetric corridor around the MPR at plus 500 to minus 100 basis points. Retain the cash reserve ratio of deposit money banks at 50% and merchant banks at 16% and retain the liquidity ratio at 30%.”

More to come…