THE Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has raised interest rate from 18 percent to 18.5 percent.
News Point Nigeria the apex bank governor, Godwin Emefiele, announced the decision on Wednesday after the committee’s meeting at the CBN headquarters in Abuja.
The development is the third consecutive time the apex bank will be raising the monetary policy rate (MPR) which measures the interest rate.
Recall in March that the MPC of the bank voted to increase the benchmark interest rate by 50 basis points to 18 per cent.
Addressing journalists at the end of the two-day meeting in Abuja, Mr Emefiele, said the committee voted to keep the asymmetric corridor at +100 and -700 basis points around the MPR.
Justifying the rising inflation rate, the MPC blamed the high energy cost and challenges around the supply chain, among others, which are beyond the reach of the CBN.
He added, “The current trend in price development would continue to be monitored by the bank with greater collaboration with fiscal authority to address the drivers of inflation.”
Analysts in the country had predicted the CBN and the MPC might raise the lending rates at the end of the Monetary Policy Committee.
The apex bank had increased the MPR from 11.5 per cent earlier last year to 18 per cent in March this year across six consecutive rate hikes.