CBN's rate-setting committee retains interest rate at 13.5%

CBN MPC leaves the country's interest rate at 13.5%.
Godwin Emefiele, CBN governor, says the members of the committee voted unanimously to retain all key lending parameters.
The monetary authority believes the decision will protect the price of goods and services ahead of the festival season and that the impact from border closure was 'temporary'.

The policy rate-setting committee of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has retained the country's interest rate at 13.5%.

Godwin Emefiele, CBN governor, stated this at the end of the 270th meeting of the Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) at the apex bank’s headquarters in Abuja.

Godwin Emefiele, CBN governor, speaking at the end of the 270th meeting of the Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) at the apex bank’s headquarters in Abuja. (Twitter/Channels Television) Twitter/Channels Television

The committee voted to hold all policy parameters constant as follows:

The benchmark interest rate (MPR) was held at 13.50%
The asymmetric corridor retained at +200bps and -500bps around the MPR
The Cash Reserve Ratio (CRR) remained at 22.50%
The Liquidity Ratio retained at 30.00%.

What does this mean

Emefiele said the committee made the decision to protect the price of goods and services ahead of the festival season as the recent upward movement in inflation was expected. According to recent data released by the National Bureau of Statistics, Nigeria's inflation rate rose to its highest in eight months, hitting 11.61% as the country continues to shut borders against neighbouring countries.

What analysts are saying

Prior to the outcome of the MPC decision, analysts at CSL Stockbrokers and FSDH Merchant Bank have predicted that members of the Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) will leave rates unchanged. They believed that the decision of the CBN is to spur economic growth in Q4.