The Central Bank of Nigeria has cut its benchmark interest rate from 26.5 percent to 23 percent, marking a 350-basis-point reduction as inflation continues to ease.
CBN Governor, Olayemi Cardoso, announced the decision on Tuesday after the 307th meeting of the Monetary Policy Committee in Abuja.
“The Committee decided as follows: reset the monetary policy rate to 23 percent,” Cardoso said.
The new rate is the lowest since February 2024 and comes after the MPC retained the MPR at 26.5 percent at its two previous meetings. The committee had earlier cut the rate by 50 basis points in February 2026.
The latest decision comes against the backdrop of a continued moderation in inflation. Nigeria’s headline inflation fell marginally from 15.43 percent in July to 15.39 percent in August, according to the latest figures from the National Bureau of Statistics.
The MPC also adjusted its Standing Facilities Corridor to +50/-300 basis points around the MPR.
It retained the Cash Reserve Requirement at 45 percent for deposit money banks, 16 percent for merchant banks, and 75 percent for non-Treasury Single Account public-sector deposits.
The decision represents a significant reduction from the 27.5 percent MPR recorded earlier in 2026 and reflects the CBN’s response to changing economic conditions.
Ahead of the meeting, the CBN’s August Inflation Expectations Survey showed that 60.9 percent of respondents wanted interest rates reduced, while 27.4 percent preferred the rate to remain unchanged. Only 11.7 percent favored an increase.
The easing also follows improvements in inflation and relative stability in the foreign exchange market. Bank of America had predicted ahead of the meeting that the CBN could resume rate cuts, citing the moderation in inflation and stability of the naira.
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