CBN Keeps Rates at 14% in Absence of MPC Meeting

By Modupe Gbadeyanka

As a result of its inability to convey its first Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) meeting for 2018, the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has announced continuing with the key monetary policy variables as decided by the last MPC meeting held in November 2017.

The MPC meeting was supposed to start today with decisions on the rates announced tomorrow. But because it could not form a quorum to hold the meeting, the apex bank has cancelled it.

In a statement issued on Monday morning, the central bank said its MPR remains at 14 percent, CRR at 22.5 percent, liquidity ratio at 30 percent, and the asymmetric corridor at +200 and -500 basis points around the MPR.

However, the apex bank noted that a revised schedule of meetings for the MPC would be communicated as soon as the bank is able to meet the statutory requirements of membership and quorum.

In the statement, the CBN Governor, Mr Godwin Emefiele, disclosed that he was pleased that key economic indicators continue to move in the right direction.

“With modest recovery in oil prices and boost in domestic production, we exited the recession in 2017, while inflation has continued its decline and is now at 15.37 percent for December 2017.

“Our Foreign Exchange Reserves have grown from about $23 billion in October 2016 to $40.78 billion at the close of business on January 18, 2018,” the CBN chief said.

“Reflecting strong investor confidence in Nigeria, we have recorded inflows of almost $13 billion since our introduction of the Investors’ and Exporters’ (I&E) window about nine months ago.

“These inflows have boosted FX supply and helped stabilize the exchange rate. We have also seen market capitalization of our Stock Exchange improve by 22.3 percent from N13.21 trillion on November 30, 2017 to N16.15 trillion as of January 19, 2018 while the All-Share Index (ASI) rose by 18.8 percent from 37,944.60 to 45,092.83 over the same period,” he stated.

According to Mr Emefiele, the apex bank is determined to sustain these gains and continue with its vigilance and proactivity to ensure macroeconomic stability through 2018.