CBN to Hold 280th MPC Meeting July 26

By Modupe Gbadeyanka

On Monday, July 26, 2021, the 280th Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) meeting of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) will commence.

The gathering is for two days and will involve members of the team who are experienced bankers, economists and others.

They will discuss the economy and the security situation of the nation and its effect on the economy, especially inflation, food prices and others.

At the end of the MPC meeting on Tuesday, July 27, the Governor of the CBN, Mr Godwin Emefiele, will address the media to announce the outcome of the gathering.

He would be expected to end his briefing with the decision of the committee on the main monetary policies like the interest rate, liquidity ratio and others.

At the previous MPC meeting, which was held in May, the team agreed to leave the Monetary Policy Rate (MPR) at 11.5 per cent. The MPR is the interest rate the apex bank lends money to financial institutions.

Also, the committee voted to keep the Cash Reserve Ratio (CRR) at 27.5 per cent, the Liquidity Ratio (LR) at 30 per cent and the Asymmetric Window left at +100 and -700 basis points around the MPR.

But as members of the MPC prepare for the meeting next week, one of the things that could sway their decision on the rates is the latest inflation figure released by the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) last Friday, which said the rate moderated to 17.75 per cent.