A view of Central Bank of Nigeria headquarters next to National Ecumenical Centre in Abuja, Nigeria November 23, 2021. REUTERS/Afolabi Sotunde

ABUJA, July 23 (Reuters) – Nigeria’s central bank raised its benchmark lending rate by 50 basis points to 26.75%, in a decision announced on Tuesday.

Economists had predicted another hike to rates after inflation rose further in June and the naira currency fell on both the official and parallel markets, forcing the central bank to intervene.

Tuesday’s decision by the bank’s Monetary Policy Committee is the fourth straight hike this year, after increases of 150 basis points (bps) in May, 200 bps in March and 400 bps in February, its largest in around 17 years.

(Reporting by Elisha Bala-Gbogbo and Chijioke Ohuocha, Writing by Bhargav Acharya; Editing by Bate Felix Editing by Bate Felix)