The Central Bank of Nigeria’s (CBN) Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) has raised the interest rate benchmark for the third time since Olayemi Cardoso became governor, as part of an aggressive tightening cycle.
After a two-day meeting, the MPC voted to increase the Monetary Policy Rate (MPR) by 150 basis points to 26.25% from 24.75%, while keeping other policy parameters unchanged. This decision was driven by Nigeria’s persistently high headline inflation, which rose to 23.69% in April, largely due to food inflation.
Despite this, the CBN governor remains optimistic that current efforts are yielding positive results and expects further relief in the near future. Additionally, the CBN is engaging with investors to enhance the financial sector’s robustness and market transparency, which will boost investor confidence in the Nigerian market.