Nigeria Holds Rate, Signals Tight Policy Until Risks Recede (1)

Nigeria’s central bank kept its benchmark interest rate unchanged and signaled it will maintain a tight monetary policy stance until inflation risks subside.

The 12-member monetary policy committee maintained the benchmark rate at 27.5%, Governor Olayemi Cardoso said at a briefing in the capital, Abuja, on Tuesday. That matched the prediction of all seven economists in a Bloomberg survey.

“The decision was premised on the need to sustain the momentum of disinflation and sufficiently contain price pressures,” Cardoso said. “Monetary policy will need to maintain its current stance until risks to inflation recede sufficiently.”

Olayemi Cardoso

Photographer: Betty Laura Zapata/Bloomberg

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