The Central Bank of Nigeria’s Monetary Policy Committee has raised the benchmark interest rate, also known as the Monetary Policy Rate (MPR), to 27.25 percent. This is an increase of 50 basis points from the previous rate of 26.75 percent announced in July 2024.
The new rate represents an 8.5 percent increase in interest rates under the current leadership, which took office a year ago.
CBN Governor, Olayemi Cardoso stated that the committee unanimously decided to further tighten monetary policy while addressing newsmen at an ongoing press briefing at the aftermath of the committee’s fifth meeting for the year at the CBN headquarters on Tuesday in Abuja. This move comes despite financial experts’ expectations that the CBN would either hold or lower interest rates following two consecutive months of declining headline inflation.
Historically, the MPR has fluctuated, with previous rates including 26.75 percent in July 2024, 26.25 percent in May 2024, and 24.75 percent in March 2024.
