The Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has voted to increase the benchmark interest rate (Monetary Policy Rate) to 14 per cent from 13 per cent.
Governor of the CBN, Godwin Emefiele, made this known on Tuesday, while reading the communiqué of the MPC meeting.
This is happening amidst rising inflation in the country.
According to the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS), Nigeria’s inflation rate hit an over 5-year high of 18.6 per cent in June 2022, from 17.71 per cent recorded in May, largely due to the surge in energy prices and transportation costs.
The Central Bank during its last MPC meeting in May 2022, had increased the interest rate from 11.5 per cent to 13.5 per cent.
However, with inflation rate still above 18 per cent, the CBN raised the rate further to 14 per cent in a bid to combat the rising cost of goods and services.
