THE CABLE
Olayemi Cardoso, governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), says the purchase of foodstuffs by the government as palliatives is contributing to the galloping food inflation in the country.
Cardoso disclosed this in his contributions during the March monetary policy committee (MPC) meeting, which was published on CBN’s website
On March 25, MPC increased the interest rate from 22.75 percent to 24.75 percent, in a bid to tame inflation.
The country’s inflation rate in March jumped to 33.2 percent, up from 31.70 percent in February.
Food inflation rate reached 40.01 percent in the same month, a year-on-year increase of 15.56 percentage points, compared to 24.45 percent in March 2023.
Commenting on inflation, Cardoso said inflationary pressure had failed to abate despite the hike in the interest rate in February.
“Despite notable stability in the foreign exchange market resulting from decisions taken at that 293rd MPC meeting, inflationary pressure remains unabated,” he said.
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