By Ikugbadi Oluwasegun
The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has decided to raise the interest rate by 150 basis points to 26.25% from 24.75 per cent.
This is coming after two-day meeting, the bank’s Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) agreed to increase the Monetary Policy Rate(MPR) for the third straight time to rein in the country’s soaring inflation levels pegged at 33.69% in April 2024.
“The Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) held its 295th meeting on the 20th and 21st of May 2024 to review recent economic and financial developments and assess risks to the outlook,” the CBN Governor Yemi Cardoso who is also the MPC chairman disclosed it on Tuesday.
“Decisions of the MPC. The committee’s decisions are as follows: 1. Raise the MPR by 150 basis points to 26. 25 per cent from 24.75 per cent.”
Cardoso added that the Cash Reserve Ratio (CRR) of Deposit Money Banks (DMBS) was retained at 45 per cent. The MPC also put the Asymmetric Corridor around the MPR at +100 and –300 basis points. It retained the liquidity ratio at 30 per cent.
The CBN chief who admitted the rising inflation levels in the country said the key focus of the MPC meeting was to achieve price stability by using tools available to rein in inflation.
He said the inflation pressure is being driven largely by food inflation, citing rising costs of transportation, infrastructure challenges, insecurity, and exchange rate issues as some of the factors affecting it.