For the first time in six years the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) increased its benchmark interest rate to 13 percent from 11.5 percent to curtail accelerating inflation.
The apex bank retained the asymmetric corridor around the MPR at +100 /-700 basis points, Cash Reserve Ratio (CRR) at 27.4 %, and Liquidity Ratio (LR) at 30%.
Nigeria’s inflation rose sharply to 16.82 percent in April 2022, as prices of both food and non -food items continued in an upward trend.
Read also: Bank stocks set to gain as Nigeria hikes interest rate for first time in 6yrs
According to CBN Governor, Godwin Emefiele who announced the decisions of the two days meeting of the Monetary Policy Committee (MPC), the apex bank is seriously worried about rising consumer prices and needed to take a drastic action to reverse it while equally supporting growth recovery.
“It is not an easy decision but we have to focus on our core mandate,” he stated.
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Hope Moses-Ashike
Hope Moses-Ashike is an Associate Editor, Banking and Finance, with more than a decade of experience reporting on Nigeria’s financial system and broader economy. She closely tracks market movements, monetary policy decisions, company disclosures, regulatory actions, economic indicators, and global developments, and interprets what they mean for businesses, investors, policymakers, and households. Her reporting helps readers understand complex issues such as inflation trends, foreign exchange market dynamics, interest rate decisions, bank performance, and investment risks.
She also covers major international events and periodically travels to Washington, D.C., to report on the World Bank/IMF Spring and Annual Meetings.
Her dedication to financial journalism has earned her multiple recognitions and invitations to high-level professional development programmes. She is an alumna of the International Visitors Leadership Programme (IVLP) in the United States and holds an Advanced Financial Journalism Certificate from the Press Association Training in London, UK. Her other notable achievements include completing the Lagos Business School CMC Programme, the Bloomberg Media Africa Initiative Programme, and a Master Class in Journalism at Rhodes University in South Africa.
