CBN begins MPC meeting as CPPE pushes for interest rate

The Central Bank of Nigeria on Monday will begin its 302nd Monetary Policy Committee meeting.

This comes as the Centre for the Promotion of Private Enterprise urged for an interest rate and cash reserve ratio cut.

The 302nd two-day MPC in Abuja comes at a time when CBN Governor Olayemi Cardoso and deputy governors mark their second-year anniversary.

The MPC would need to take key policy decisions regarding inflation and interest rates.

Stakeholders in the financial sector and Nigerians await the MPC’s next line of action after the country witnessed its fifth consecutive decline in August, which was at 21.12 per cent, and interest at 27.50 per cent since July.

Despite the decline in inflation, data experts such as Babajide Ogunsawo said prices of goods and services remained high in Nigeria.

Speaking on Channels TV on Sunday, Ogunsawo said Nigeria is experiencing disinflation, not deflation.

This is why CPPE, in a statement by its Chief Executive Officer, Muda Yusuf, on Sunday, called for a cut in the country’s interest rate and cash reserve ratio to push down the cost of production and, by extension, prices.

“The Monetary Policy Rate at 27.5 per cent and the Cash Reserve Ratio at 50 per cent have considerably pushed up the cost of funds. Elevated lending rates have suppressed private sector borrowing, particularly in manufacturing, agriculture, SMEs, real estate, and other sectors,” he stated.

CBN begins MPC meeting as CPPE pushes for interest rate