CBN Raises Monetary Policy Rate To 18%, Insist On Cashless Policy

The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has increased the Monetary Policy Rate to 18 per cent to check the rising level of inflation in the country.

The CBN Governor, Godwin Emefiele, who made the disclosure at an ongoing media briefing on Tuesday to mark the end of this month’s Momentary Policy Committee meeting, said the level of inflation has remained on the increase.

The MPC raised the MPR to 18 per cent from the 17.5 per cent which it was in January this year.

The MPR is the baseline interest rate in an economy and every other interest rate used within an economy is built on it.

He said the aim was to keep inflation rate under control, citing the gains of previous high rate as reason for its new action

Emefiele said controlling the level of inflation is important for the country to achieve economic growth.

Last week, Nigeria’s inflation rate rose to 21.9 percent amid the lingering scarcity of cash.