CBN reschedules MPC meeting amid inflation data delays

The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has announced a new date for the 299th meeting of its Monetary Policy Committee (MPC), shifting it from the previously scheduled February 17–18, 2025, to February 19–20, 2025.

In a statement released on Monday, the apex bank clarified that the decision aims to put to rest speculations surrounding the meeting date, which had arisen due to delays in the release of the rebased Consumer Price Index (CPI) by the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS).

“The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has announced that the 299th meeting of its Monetary Policy Committee (MPC), earlier scheduled for February 17 and 18, 2025, will now be held on Wednesday, February 19 and Thursday, February 20, 2025,” the statement read.

With a confirmed date now set, economic analysts and financial market stakeholders are closely monitoring the CBN’s next move on the Monetary Policy Rate (MPR).

Given current economic conditions, experts are debating whether the committee will maintain the rate or implement a hike to mitigate inflationary pressures.

The MPC meeting remains a pivotal event for Nigeria’s economic outlook, shaping key decisions on interest rates, inflation control, and broader macroeconomic stability.

READ ALSO: CBN postpones 2025 MPC meeting amid delays in inflation data release

Sources within the CBN revealed that policymakers reconsidered the February 17–18 meeting date due to the unavailability of updated inflation data.

The first MPC meeting for 2025 was initially planned for January 27–28 but was postponed to February to allow time for the rebased inflation and GDP figures to be published.

Last month, the NBS stated that it would release details of the newly rebased Gross Domestic Product (GDP) and CPI by the end of the month.

In October 2024, the NBS announced plans to rebase the GDP and CPI to reflect evolving economic realities and capture structural changes. The rebased CPI is expected to offer a more accurate measure of inflation trends by incorporating shifts in consumer spending patterns.

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The last rebasing was conducted in 2009, and since then, economic changes—including increased spending on telecommunications and services—have not been fully reflected in inflation measurements.

As part of the CPI rebasing, the price reference period has been updated to 2024, and the NBS also plans to introduce three new inflation indices.

However, despite expectations that the rebased CPI would be available by the end of January, the delay in its release has raised concerns about the timing of crucial economic indicators ahead of the MPC meeting.