NAIRAMETRICS
The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has once again raised its interest rate, increasing it by 25 basis points from 27.25% to 27.50%, in a bid to address the rising inflation in the country.
This decision was announced by the Governor of the CBN, Mr. Yemi Cardoso, who also serves as the Chairman of the Monetary Policy Committee (MPC), at the conclusion of the MPC meeting held in Abuja.
The Monetary Policy Committee unanimously agreed to the hike, raising the interest rate by 25 basis points to 27.50%, up from its previous level in September.
Meanwhile, the Committee decided to retain the Monetary Policy Reserve Ratio (CRR) at 50% for Deposit Money Banks and 16% for Merchant Banks.
The Liquidity Ratio (LR) remains unchanged at 30%, alongside the Asymmetric Corridor, which stays at +500/-100 basis points around the Monetary Policy Rate (MPR).
“The Committee has decided unanimously to further tighten its monetary policies and decided thus: one, raise the MPR by 25 basis points to 27.5%. Two, retain the asymmetry corridor around the MPR at +500/-100 basis point.
“Three, the committee retain the Cash Reserve Ratio (CRR) of deposit money banks at 50% and merchant banks at 16%. Four the committee decided to retain the liquidity ratio at 30%,” Cardoso said.
In addition, Cardoso stated that the committee’s decision was made against the backdrop of a renewed hike in inflationary pressure in the country.
He referenced the headline inflation, which, according to the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS), rose to 33.88% in October 2024.
