JUST IN: CBN raises interest rate to 18.75%

The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), on Tuesday, raised the Monetary Policy Rate (MPR) or interest rate from 18.5 percent to 18.75 percent.

Folashodun Shonubi, acting CBN governor, announced the development after the bank’s Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) meeting in Abuja.

Last week, Nigeria’s headline inflation rose to 22.79% in June from the 22.41% recoded in May 2023 amid rising food prices and rising cost of transportation occasioned by the removal of subsidy on Premium Motor Spirit known as petrol.

Speaking at the CBN headquarters in Abuja on Tuesday, Shonubi said “hiking the interest rate has made a lot of difference in moderating the rate of inflation”.

He also said the volatility around foreign exchange rates would soon normalise.

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