The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) monetary policy committee on Tuesdayheld its meeting, the first in 2022, where membersunanimously voted to retain the Monetary Policy Rate (MPR), otherwise known as interest rate at 11.5 per cent.
Reading a communiqué after the meeting, Mr Godwin Emefiele, the CBN Governor, said the MPC also unanimously agreed to hold all other monetary policy parameters constant.
Consequently, the Asymmetric Corridor was retained at +100 and -700 basis points around the MPR, the Cash Reserved Ratio(CRR) at 27.5 per cent and the Liquidity Ratio at 30 per cent.
The meeting noted that inflation in most developed and emerging economies remained high driven by the persistent exchange rate fluctuations and supply bottlenecks.
The MPC attributed the rise in Nigeria’s inflation rate in December 2021 to increased demand during the yuletide, suggesting that the uptick in the numbers could be a temporary development. The committee also noted that inflation will moderate further going into the new year driven by the significant interventions in the agricultural sector.
The MPC said that the Nigerian economy is expected to continue with a positive growth guven the impressive growth recorded in the third quarter of 2021, reflecting continuous recovery from the recession.
Details later…