A view shows Nigeria’s Central Bank headquarters in Abuja, Nigeria November 22, 2020. Picture taken November 22, 2020. REUTERS/Afolabi Sotunde//File Photo

ABUJA, Feb 20 (Reuters) – Nigeria’s central bank held its benchmark lending rate at 27.50%, its governor Olayemi Cardoso said on Thursday.

The decision follows six rate hikes last year totalling 875 basis points to try to get inflation under control.

Earlier this week the statistics agency unveiled a much lower annual inflation rate of 24.48% in January after a rebasing exercise.

The naira currency has been relatively stable since December, potentially reassuring the central bank.

(Reporting by Elisha Bala-Gbogbo and Chijioke Ohuocha; Additional reporting by Bhargav Acharya in Johannesburg and MacDonald Dzirutwe in Lagos; Editing by Alexander Winning)