ABUJA, May 24 (Xinhua) -- Nigeria's apex bank on Tuesday raised the Monetary Policy Rate, the benchmark interest rate, to 13 percent -- the first hike in more than two years.
The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) raised the interest rate by 150 basis points to combat rising inflation in the most populous African country, Godwin Emefiele, governor of the CBN, told reporters at the end of the apex bank's Monetary Policy Committee meeting in Abuja, the Nigerian capital.
The bank, however, retained all other parameters, including the cash reserve ratio at 27.50 percent, and the liquidity ratio at 30 percent, Emefiele said.
According to the apex bank's governor, the bank was faced with various options but guided by the need to slow down inflationary pressure while engendering economic growth.
He expressed deep concern about the continued uptrend of inflationary pressure in spite of the gradual improvement in output growth, saying tackling inflation was more compelling and urgent in the sequence of policy objectives.
The apex bank governor also urged the Nigerian government to do more to provide a safe and secure environment for economic activities to stimulate growth. ■