UPDATED: MPC Retains Interest Rate At 27.5%

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The first-quarter’s economic parameters, including the interest rate of 27.50 percent, have been kept by the Central Bank of Nigeria’s Monetary Policy Committee.

After the committee meeting on May 19 and 20, CBN Governor Olayemi Cardoso made the announcement.

The committee decided to keep the MPR at 27.50% and the asymmetric corridor at + 500/-100 basis points at its 299th and 20th February 2025 meeting.

The deposit money bank cash reserve ratio was 50.0 percent and the merchant bank’s ratio was 16%, while the liquidity ratio was 30.0 percent, respectively.

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Cardoso made reference to the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) inflation rate of 23.71 per cent while revealing the MPC’s decision on Tuesday.

The annual inflation rate for April 2025 decreased from 24.23% in the previous month to 23.71%, according to the NBS.

The inflation rate for the largest portion of the inflation basket, food inflation, increased slightly from 21.9 per cent in March to 21.26, primarily as a result of the price of some commodities like maize, wheat, yam, and wheat.

The CBN governor praised the Federal Government for putting forth measures to boost food supply and intensify the fight against insecurity, especially in rural communities, while stating that food inflation remained moderate in April.

The MPC urges security organizations to maintain the momentum while the government offers farmers the protection they need to boost local food production, he said.

Inflationary Pressures

However, the committee acknowledged that legacy structure factors, such as rising electricity prices, persistent foreign exchange demand pressure, and other, contributed to inflationary pressures. &nbsp,

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The Federal Government’s new policies were also reviewed by the MPC to boost local production, lessen foreign exchange demand pressure, and lessen domestic prices’ effects from higher rates.