Nigerian Central Bank Hikes Key Interest Rate Just Days After Naira Plunges to New Low

1 year ago

Following the latest gathering of the monetary argumentation committee, the Central Bank of Nigeria says it has hiked the monetary argumentation complaint to 15.5%. By expanding the cardinal involvement complaint by 150 ground points, the cardinal slope hopes to “narrow the antagonistic existent involvement complaint spread and rein successful inflation.” The complaint summation came conscionable days aft the naira’s parallel speech complaint against the dollar plunged to a caller low.

Narrowing the Negative Real Interest Rate Gap

According to the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), members of the bank’s monetary argumentation committee (MPC) person voted “unanimously to rise the argumentation complaint to constrictive the antagonistic existent involvement complaint spread and rein successful inflation.” Following the vote, Nigeria’s cardinal involvement complaint — the monetary argumentation complaint (MPR) — present stands astatine 15.5%, up from 14%.

In a statement, the CBN said the determination to summation MPR by 150 ground points was made due to the fact that members of the MPC felt that immoderate effort to loosen the argumentation complaint would beryllium detrimental.

At this [MPC] meeting, the enactment to loosen the argumentation complaint was not considered arsenic this would beryllium gravely detrimental to reining-in ostentation … The Committee frankincense voted unanimously to rise the Monetary Policy Rate (MPR) and the Cash Reserve Requirement (CRR). Ten members voted to rise the MPR by 150 ground points, 1 subordinate by 100 ground points, and different subordinate by 50 ground points.

Nigeria’s ostentation rate, which has present grown by 280 ground points successful conscionable 4 months, stood astatine 20.52% successful August 2022. To halt it from increasing further, the MPC said it is indispensable for the CBN to guarantee that “significant absorption [is] beryllium fixed to taming inflation.”

Meanwhile, the bank’s determination to hike the MPR came conscionable days aft the Nigerian currency’s speech complaint against the U.S. dollar plunged to a caller all-time low. According to a Bloomberg report, the naira’s parallel marketplace speech complaint had dropped from 715 naira for each dollar to 720 naira per dollar. On the ceremonial market, 1 U.S. dollar was buying conscionable nether 440 naira.

Following the naira’s latest important depreciation, the dispersed betwixt the currency’s authoritative and parallel marketplace speech complaint has present widened to implicit 280 naira.

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