By Dipo Olowookere
The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has announced an increase in the Monetary Policy Rate (MPR) by 200 basis points or 2.00 per cent to 24.75 per cent from 22.75 per cent.
The apex bank announced the fresh interest rake hike on Tuesday at the end of its Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) meeting, which commenced yesterday in Abuja.
Addressing the media after the meeting, the CBN Governor, Mr Yemi Cardoso, said the decision to further tighten the rates was to curb rising inflation.
He also said the committee adjusted the asymmetric corridor around the MPR to +100/-300 from +100/-700, but retained the Cash Reserve Ratio (CRR) at 45 per cent for commercial banks, with the liquidity ratio held intact at 30 per cent. It raised the CRR of merchant banks to 14 per cent from 10 per cent.
Recall that this morning, Business Post reported that analysts at Meristem Research projected a 2.00 per cent rise in the MPR.
“We expect the committee to prioritise curbing inflation through a potential rate hike while maintaining a balanced approach towards managing system liquidity and exchange rate stability,” a part of the research note from Meristem said.
Meanwhile, Mr Cardoso has disclosed that the next MPC meeting will take place in May 2024.