The Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) which had its first meeting in the year on Monday and Tuesday (January 24 and 25) has left the Monetary Policy Rate (MPR) unchanged. Members of the committee voted unanimously to retain the benchmark interest rate at 11.5%. The committee also left all other monetary parameters unchanged.

These decisions of the MPC were disclosed by the Governor of the CBN, Godwin Emefiele, while addressing journalists on Tuesday January 25 after the two-day meeting of the committee in Abuja.

Highlights of the Committee’s decisions are as follows:

• MPR retained at 11.50%
• The asymmetric corridor of +100/-700 basis points around the MPR was retained
• CRR was retained at 27.5%
• Liquidity Ratio kept at 30%

Emefiele said the decisions of the MPC were informed by rising inflation. According to National Bureau of Statistics (NBS), Nigeria’s inflation rose to 15.63 per cent in December 2021 compared to 15.40 per cent in November. This appears to be trend all over the world. Emefiele said the MPC had observed that inflation in most developed and emerging economies was high, and this is driven by the persistent exchange rate fluctuations and supply bottlenecks.