CBN Retains Interest Rate At 27.5%

The Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has voted to retain the Monetary Policy Rate (MPR) at 27.5 percent.

CBN Governor Olayemi Cardoso made the announcement on Tuesday during a press briefing following the 300th MPC meeting held in Abuja.

“The committee unanimously agreed to retain the MPR at 27.5 percent,” Cardoso said.

Other key monetary parameters were also left unchanged. The Cash Reserve Ratio (CRR) remains at 45 percent for commercial banks and 16 percent for mortgage banks, while the Liquidity Ratio (LR) stays at 30 percent. The asymmetric corridor around the MPR was maintained at +500/-100 basis points.

Cardoso said the decision to hold rates steady was informed by recent data showing a slight easing in inflation. Nigeria’s headline inflation rate declined to 23.7 percent in April, according to figures released last week by the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS).

The MPC, he noted, will continue to monitor economic indicators and adjust policy tools as necessary to ensure macroeconomic stability.