The Monetary Policy Committee of the Central Bank of Nigeria on Tuesday retained the Monetary Policy Rate (MPR), which is the benchmark lending rate, at the current 14 per cent. The decision to leave the rate unchanged was contrary to expectations of economic analysts, manufacturers and some government officials.
At the end of its 252nd meeting, Monetary Policy Rate (MPR) at 14.0 percent, Asymmetric corridor around the MPR at +200/-500bps; Cash Reserves Ratio (CRR) at 22.5 percent; and Liquidity Ratio (LR) at 30.0 percent.
Addressing journalists at the end of the two-day MPC meeting, which was held at the central bank headquarters in Abuja, the CBN Governor, Godwin Emefiele, said the apex bank decided to hold the lending rate in order to maintain its primary objective of price stability. He also said the decision was unanimously agreed on by all the 10 members of the committee who attended the meeting.