CBN Retains Interest Rate Benchmark at 27.50%

By Adedapo Adesanya

The Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has left the interest rates unchanged as it awaits more data to determine the inflation outlook.

According to an announcement by the Governor of the apex bank, Mr Yemi Cardoso, at the end of the 300th MPC meeting on Tuesday, the committee retained the Monetary Policy Rate (MPR) at 27.50 per cent, the Cash Reserve Ratio (CRR) at 50 per cent, and the Liquidity Ratio (LR) at 30 per cent.

This was widely expected as inflation cooled to 23.71 per cent in April 2025, according to the latest report by the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS).

Although at 23.71 per cent, the inflation levels remain elevated and strains on the Naira have only recently abated after an initial selloff in April caused by a slump in the price of oil, the country’s main export.

Business Post reports that the World Bank had recently projected that Nigeria’s inflation may moderate to 22.1 per cent this year, higher than the 15 per cent targeted by the Bola Tinubu-led administration.

There are also indications that if inflation slows down in the next two months, Nigeria might start cutting rates in the next half of 2025.

Nigeria may see “some room for the CBN to cut rates” in the second half of the year as disinflation is expected, Mr Gbolahan Taiwo, an analyst at JPMorgan Chase & Co. said in a client note.

The MPC meeting is the first rate-setting meeting since the US imposed a 10 per cent universal tariff and slapped China, Africa’s largest trading partner — with a 145 per cent levy before reducing it to 30 per cent for 90 days.