The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has increased the interest rate to 26.25%.
This was the decision of the CBN’s Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) after its 295th meeting.
CBN governor, Yemi Cardoso, made the announcement during a press briefing on Tuesday, May 21.
Furthermore, the bank retained the Cash Reserve Ratio (CRR) of Deposit Money Banks (DMBs) at 45% and put the Asymmetric corridor around the MPR at +100 and –300 basis points.
Cardoso maintained that the focus remains to achieve price stability in a bit to rain in inflation.
This is the third MPC meeting since Cardoso assumed office.
The Monetary Policy Rate increased by 600 basis points during the sessions in February and March.
The MPC has maintained a hawkish stance since it resumed meetings this year in a bid to tackle Nigeria’s persistent inflation.
Nigeria’s inflation rate had risen to 33.69 per cent as of April 2024.
Analysts have projected a rate hike while some suggested that the apex bank may consider a hold stance as the growth rate of inflation moderated month-on-month.
