Nigeria’s Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) has retained the Monetary Policy Rate (MPR) at 27 percent, marking the fourth consecutive time the Central Bank has held the benchmark interest rate steady.
Governor Olayemi Cardoso announced the decision on Tuesday at the committee’s 303rd meeting in Abuja, explaining that the stance was necessary to sustain progress in moderating inflation.
The MPR serves as the baseline interest rate in the economy, shaping lending and borrowing costs across the financial system.
The decision comes after headline inflation dropped to 16.05 percent in October 2025, the seventh consecutive month of decline.
Cardoso said the committee welcomed the disinflation, attributing it to sustained monetary tightening, a stable exchange rate, improved food supply, and relative stability in petrol prices.
Despite the progress, he cautioned that inflation remains high at double digits.
“Maintaining the current stance of policy, amidst lingering global uncertainties, would allow the effect of previous policy rate hikes to sufficiently transmit to the real economy and further reduce prices,” he said.
Other Policy Measures
The MPC also voted to adjust the asymmetric corridor to +50 and -450 basis points around the MPR.
It retained the cash reserve ratio (CRR) at 45 percent for deposit money banks, 16 percent for merchant banks, and 75 percent for non‑TSA public sector deposits. The liquidity ratio was left unchanged at 30 percent.
Cardoso noted that Nigeria’s external sector has shown robust performance, with a surplus current account and steady accretion to reserves helping stabilize the exchange rate.
He commended the collaboration between fiscal and monetary authorities, which recently led to an upgrade of Nigeria’s sovereign credit rating and the country’s removal from the FATF gray list.
The governor said these positive developments are expected to boost investor confidence and improve capital flows into the economy.
“The MPC reaffirmed its commitment to a data‑driven assessment of developments and outlook to guide future policy decisions,” Cardoso added.
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