The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) on Tuesday maintained the country’s benchmark interest rate, the Monetary Policy Rate (MPR), at 27 percent, as the bank stated that it seeks to build on recent gains in inflation and exchange-rate stability.
Governor Olayemi Cardoso announced the decision at a press conference at the end of the 303rd meeting of the Central Bank’s Monetary Policy Committee (MPC), held in Abuja.
In addition to holding the MPR at 27 per cent, the committee decided: to adjust the asymmetric corridor around the MPR to +50 and -450 basis points; to keep the Cash Reserve Ratio (CRR) for deposit-money banks at 45 per cent, for merchant banks at 16 per cent, and for non-TSA public-sector deposits at 75 per cent, and to retain the Liquidity Ratio at 30 per cent.
The MPR serves as the baseline interest rate upon which other lending and deposit rates in the economy are built.
Governor Cardoso said the decision was “underpinned by the need to sustain the progress made so far towards achieving low and stable inflation”.
He added: “The MPC reaffirmed its commitment to a data-driven assessment of developments and outlook to guide future policy decisions.
“The committee welcomed the continued deceleration in headline inflation year-on-year in October 2025 for the seventh consecutive month. This favourable development resulted from several factors, including sustained monetary policy tightening, stable exchange rate, increased capital flows and surplus current account balance.”
Data from the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) showed headline inflation at 16.05 per cent in October after months of high rates.
The MPC noted that some of this improvement was supported by relative stability in the price of premium motor spirit (PMS) and improved food supplies.
However, Cardoso also cautioned that “headline inflation remains high at double-digit, requiring sustained efforts towards moderating it further.”
The committee’s view is that holding the current interest-rate stance, “amidst lingering global uncertainties, would allow the effect of previous policy rate hikes to sufficiently transmit to the real economy and further reduce prices.”
The MPC further noted that the favourable external-sector performance — including a surplus current account balance and rising foreign exchange reserves — had contributed to exchange rate stability and helped moderate inflation. The CBN’s own records show that Nigeria’s foreign-exchange reserves had climbed to over US$46 billion in recent weeks.
In its communiqué, the MPC also commended the “collaborative effort of the fiscal and monetary authorities,” which, they said, had contributed towards the upgrade of Nigeria’s sovereign credit rating and the country’s removal from the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) grey list.
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