Nigeria’s Central Bank retains key interest rates

The Monetary Policy Committee of the Central Bank of Nigeria has voted to retain the benchmark interest rate at 11.5 per cent, whilst keeping all other monetary parameters constant. According to the Governor of CBN, Godwin Emefiele, while reading the communique at the end of the monetary policy committee meeting on Friday, retainment of the benchmark interest rate is in line with the apex bank’s effort to bolster Nigeria’s economic growth through the expansion of credit to the real sector. The committee also noted the improvement in the manufacturing and non-manufacturing PMIs, which increased to 46.9 per cent each from 46.6 per cent and 44.8 per cent recorded in July 2021.