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The Central Bank of Nigeria has raised the monetary policy rate, known as the interest rate, by 400 basis points to 22.75 per cent from 18.5 per cent.
The CBN Governor, Olayemi Cardoso disclosed this at the 293rd Meeting of the Monetary Policy Committee press briefing in Abuja.
He said the move was to ensure that the country’s soaring inflation rate, which stood at 29.90 per cent in January, was moderated.
The bank also raised the Cash Reserve Ratio to 45 per cent from 32.5 per cent.
“We expect that this will moderate in the short to medium term. We intend to work closely with other organs of government to take the fiscal side of the inflation, especially regarding insecurity”, he said.
“As far as CBN is concerned, we are moving to a very aggressive regulatory environment”, he added, speaking on the implementation of its policy.
He said the bank will continue to make the market more liquid, warning that operators who are not willing to abide by regulations will face the consequences.
The last time the MPC raised interest rates was in July.
Media Talk Africa reports that MPC held its first Meeting since its appointment in September with a move to tighten monetary policy measures.
Recall that the Chief Executive Officer of the Financial Derivatives Company, Bismarck Rewane, said the Central Bank Monetary Policy Committee will have no option but to tighten interest rates amid soaring inflation and economic hardship.