The Monetary Policy Council of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has retained the interest rate or the Monetary Policy Rate (MPR) at 14 percent for the sixth consecutive time.
This follows the decision of the committee who voted 6 to 2 citing the need for cautious optimism in the country’s economy which is just recovering from recession.
According to the CBN governor, Godwin Emefiele, Nigeria’s equities have had a strong performance. Market capitlisation on the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE) has risen by over 30% since March.
Nigeria’s macro-economic data, he said, points to a weak recovery in Q2. The economy could return to a deep recession if care is not taken.
Highlight of the meeting shows the benchmark interest rate (MPR) at 14% with the asymmetric corridor at +200bps and -500bps around the MPR.
The Cash Reserve Ratio (CRR) remain at 22.5% and the Liquidity Ratio stands at 30%.
