|
Listen now
Getting your Trinity Audio player ready...
|
Nigeria’s central bank cut its key interest rate to 27% from 27.5%, Governor Olayemi Cardoso told a briefing in the capital, Abuja, on Tuesday.
This is the first rate cut by the 12-member monetary policy committee (MPC) since the Covid-19 pandemic in 2020, amid slowing inflation and a recent strengthening in the naira.
“The committee’s decision to lower the monetary policy rate was predicated on the sustained disinflation recorded in the past five months, projections of declining inflation for the rest of 2025 and the need to support economic recovery efforts,” he said.
Annual inflation fell in August to 20.1% from 21.9% the prior month and is down from 24.5% since the start of the year.
Food price pressures are expected to ease further in coming months as the nation enters its main harvest season, while the naira has gained around 2.8% against the dollar so far in September.
Cardoso said that the central bank aims to drive inflation down into single digits, without placing a time frame on how quickly this goal will be achieved.
“That is where we are heading to,” he said. “Exchange rate stability is key if we are going to continue to moderate inflation.”
Nigeria has undertaken a series of painful reforms to revitalize the economy, including allowing the naira to float against the dollar and phasing out costly fuel subsidies. Cardoso said the progress was reflected by the improved assessment of the nation by credit rating agencies and ‘the numbers speak for themselves.”
“This is a journey. It is not a short dash,” he said. “And in that journey, we have come a very long way in creating that stability that will now serve as a platform for growth.”
Follow the MoneyCentral Nigeria channel on WhatsApp: Click here!
