|
Getting your Trinity Audio player ready...
|
In response to Nigeria experiencing its highest inflation rate in over 17 years, the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) raised its main interest rate by an additional 50 basis points to 18.50% on Wednesday.
This recent rate hike follows a previous 50-basis-point increase in March, bringing the total increase to 700 basis points in the current cycle of rate hikes.
Governor Godwin Emefiele, during a news conference, highlighted that the rise in inflation, though moderate, remains the most significant challenge to Nigeria’s macroeconomic stability.
Emefiele emphasized that the previous policy rate hikes have successfully prevented inflation from increasing by approximately 8 percentage points over the past year.
April’s annual inflation rate climbed to 22.22% from the previous month’s 22.04%, as reported by the statistics agency.
Furthermore, data from the statistics agency revealed that Nigeria’s economic growth slowed to around 2.3% in the first quarter due to a government initiative to exchange old banknotes for newly designed ones, which disrupted trade and payment processes.