CBN Retains Benchmark Rates Amidst Deepening Recession
Godwin Emefiele, CBN Governor[/caption]
Despite the economic hardship coupled with a worsening case of recession, the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has retained the Monetary Policy Rate, MPR, at 14 per cent.
Rising from its Monetary Policy Committee meeting on Tuesday, the apex bank also maintained the existing cash reserve ratios for commercial banks at 22.5 percent and the Liquidity Ratio at 30 per cent.
Asymmetry Corridor is maintained at +200 and -500 basis point.
This is coming a day after the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) report showed that the nation’s economic recession worsened in the third quarter, with the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) contracting by -2.24% (year-on-year) in real terms.
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This was lower by 0.18% points from growth recorded in the preceding quarter and also lower by 5.08% points from growth recorded in the corresponding quarter of 2015.
Briefing newsmen after the meeting, the ten member committee, led by CBN Governor, Godwin Emefiele, explained that retaining all key indicators of the economy was best for the economy at the moment.
The MPC also urged the Federal Government to settle its outstanding domestic debt, which according to them has hindered the pace of economic activities in the country.
Nigeria, which is Africa’s largest economy entered recession in the last quarter after a report showed that the economy contracted by 2.06 percent.
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The CBN few months back, introduced the exchange rate policy in a bid to save the country’s dwindling currency, Naira, but the policy yielded little or nothing due to dollar liquidity.
