The Central Bank of Nigeria’s Monetary Policy Committee has voted to raise the benchmark interest rate by 50 basis points to 18.0%, according to reports.
On Tuesday, CBN Governor Godwin Emefiele revealed this while reading the communiqué from the second MPC meeting of the year.
Mr Emefiele told journalists at the conclusion of the two-day meeting in Abuja that the committee voted to keep the asymmetric corridor at +100 and -500 basis points around the MPR.
Analysts in the country predicted that the Central Bank of Nigeria and the Monetary Policy Committee would not raise lending rates at the end of the Monetary Policy Committee.
The governor, however, stated that the slight increase is to offset the effects of inflation and other economic issues.
The MPR has been on the rise since April 2022, when it was 11.50 per cent.
The rate impacts lending and inflation rates, and, when jacked up, consequently affects upward movement of prices of goods and services.
He said, The MPC committee voted to raise the MPR by 50 basis point to 18 per cent, retain asymmetric corridor at +100 and -500 basis points around the MPR.”
Details later…