The
Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) governor, Godwin Emefiele, has announced
that the Monetary Policy Committee(MPC) voted to raise its Monetary
Policy Rate (MPR) to 14%. The committee voted to raise the MPR by 200
basis point in a move which shocked many analysts who projected that the
apex bank would hold MPR at 12%.
According to the governor, 8 out of the
10 members of the committee were in attendance at this month’s MPC
meeting, of this number, 5 voted to raise MPR while 3 voted to maintain
status quo.
MPC however retained Cash Reserve Ratio
(CRR) at 22.5%, while Liquidity Ratio and the asymmetric corridor remain
at 30% and +200-500 basis point respectively.
Emefiele said sluggish growth in the global economy, the Brexit vote, as well as weak growth in the United States all contributed to curtail expectation of global financial prosperity.
Faced with an environment of rising inflation, the MPC was faced with the twin goals of either voting to restart growth or fighting inflation, Emefiele said.
Emefiele said sluggish growth in the global economy, the Brexit vote, as well as weak growth in the United States all contributed to curtail expectation of global financial prosperity.
Faced with an environment of rising inflation, the MPC was faced with the twin goals of either voting to restart growth or fighting inflation, Emefiele said.
According to the CBN governor, the
Committee is concerned about the need to urgently diversify the economy
into agriculture, manufacturing, and services in order to rise above its
current state. “The Committee expresses satisfaction with banks with
regards to credit to the private sector, and encourages commercial banks
to keep up the tempo, so as to grow the economy,” Emefiele said.
MPC members call on the Federal
Government to fast track the implementation of the 2016 budget and drew
attention to the depressing implication of non-payment of salaries.
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