The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has raised the Monetary Policy Rate (MPR) from 27.25% to 27.50% as part of its efforts to curb rising inflation. The decision followed the Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) meeting held at the CBN headquarters in Abuja on Tuesday, marking the sixth rate hike this year.

CBN Governor Yemi Cardoso announced the decision, emphasizing that the MPC voted unanimously to increase the MPR by 25 basis points. Additionally, the Liquidity Ratio (LR) was retained at 30%, the Cash Reserve Ratio (CRR) for Deposit Money Banks at 50%, and for Merchant Banks at 16%. The Asymmetric Corridor remains at +500/-100 basis points around the MPR.

“The Committee was unanimous in its agreement to raise the monetary policy rate by 25 basis points to 27.50%,” Cardoso stated. He added that the decision was made against the backdrop of renewed inflationary pressures, with food and core inflation rising year-on-year in October 2024.

Earlier this month, the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) reported that Nigeria’s inflation rate rose to 33.88% in October, up from 32.7% in September. The 1.18 percentage point increase was attributed to higher transportation costs and food prices. On a year-on-year basis, the headline inflation rate was 6.55 percentage points higher than the 27.33% recorded in October 2023.