CBN Retains Key Rates to Support Growth Recovery

By Dipo Olowookere

The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has announced the retention of the key monetary policy rates in the country in order to support growth recovery.

The decision to maintain the rates was taken at the two-day Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) meeting held in Abuja.

Governor of the CBN, Mr Godwin Emefiele, who announced the outcome of the gathering, said members of the committee felt it was the best thing to do at the moment.

It was the first MPC meeting for 2022 and based on the inflation data released by the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS), the CBN said it was necessary to keep the MPR at 11.5 per cent.

Mr Emefiele further stated that the Asymmetric Window was retained at +100 and -700 basis points around the MPR, the Liquidity Ratio (LR) was left at 30 per cent and the Cash Reserve Ratio (CRR) was kept at 27.5 per cent.

According to him, the committee felt tightening or loosening the rates could backfire at the moment, especially when the economy was struggling to get back on its feet.