LAGOS (Reuters) – Nigeria’s central bank cut its benchmark lending rate to 12.5% from 13.5%, the central bank governor said on Thursday.

Central Bank Governor Godwin Emefiele said seven of the 10 members of the monetary policy committee backed the cut. It is the first cut since March 2019.

(Reporting by Alexis Akwagyiram; Additional reporting by Chijioke Ohuocha and Paul Carsten in Abuja; Editing by Hugh Lawson)

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