The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) has increased the benchmark interest rate by 150 basis points to 26.25% from 24.75%.
The Governor of the CBN, Yemi Cardoso stated this at the press briefing following the 295th MPC meeting of the bank.
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Furthermore, the bank retained the Cash Reserve Ratio (CRR) of Deposit Money Banks (DMBs) at 45% and put the Asymmetric corridor around the MPR at +100 and –300 basis points.
On May 15, Nigeria’s inflation rate rose to 33.69 percent amid the surge in food prices.
The monetary policy rate (MPR) is the baseline interest rate in an economy, which banks use to set their interest rates.
This is the third consecutive time the apex bank will be raising the benchmark rate this year.