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Nigeria’s central bank to hold policy meeting in February, the first under new governor

Published

4 months ago

January 20, 2024

For the first time since July, Nigeria’s central bank will hold its next interest rate meeting in February, according to a schedule released on Friday.

The Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) will hold its first meeting under the new Governor, Olayemi Cardoso, on February 26 and 27, the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) announced in a statement posted on its website.

Monetary policy is a tool used by central banks to control economic volatility and establish price stability, or low and steady inflation.

Due to persistent liquidity constraints that have caused the naira to fluctuate greatly in official trading, the value of the naira has progressively declined relative to the US dollar. It is now trading at about 1,350 against the US dollar on the black market.

Analysts disagree on the expected path of the MPC’s interest rate recommendations, which investors are eager to hear. The central bank decided to raise rates by 25 basis points, which was less than anticipated, during its most recent meeting in July.

Six MPC meetings are scheduled for the year, with dates included in the calendar for the final weeks of March, May, July, September, and November.

In many economies, central banks have clear targets for inflation. Inflation targeting is also becoming popular in many emerging nations.

Related Topics:CBN Featured Monetary Policy Nigeria

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Nigeria’s inflation hits 28-year high of 33.69% in April

Published

1 day ago

May 16, 2024

Ifeoluwa Dada

Nigeria’s consumer inflation reached a 28-year high of 33.69% in April, up from 33.20% in March, according to statistics agency figures released on Wednesday.

President Bola Tinubu’s administration has slashed petrol and energy subsidies and devalued the local naira currency twice.

To manage pricing pressures, the central bank has hiked interest rates twice this year, including the highest hike in almost 17 years. The central bank governor has stated that rates will remain high for as long as necessary to reduce inflation. The bank will host another rate-setting meeting next week.

When compared to the previous year, the inflation rate in April 2024 was 11.47 percentage points more than in April 2023, when it stood at 22.22 percent. This implies that the headline inflation rate has increased dramatically during the last year.

According to the National Bureau of Statistics, food and nonalcoholic beverages remained the largest contributor to inflation in April. Food inflation, which accounts for most of the inflation basket, rose to 40.53% yearly from 40.01% in March.

Price pressures have left millions of Nigerians facing the biggest cost-of-living crisis in decades, as they fight to satisfy their most basic necessities.

Tinubu has offered a 35% salary increase for state personnel to alleviate pressure on government workers. To assist disadvantaged households, his government has resumed a direct cash transfer program and provided at least 42,000 tons of grains such as corn and millet.

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Uganda discusses power line to South Sudan with China’s Sinohydro

Published

2 days ago

May 15, 2024

Ifeoluwa Dada

According to the president’s office, Uganda is in negotiations with Sinohydro Corporation Limited of China to build a $180 million power transmission line that would enable Uganda to export electricity to South Sudan, which is severely short on energy.

Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni received a group led by Vice President of Sinohydro Corporation Yang Yi Xin on Monday as part of the negotiations, according to a late-morning statement from Museveni’s office.

The project, according to the statement, will entail building a new substation and expanding two existing ones in addition to building a 138-kilometre high-voltage transmission line to provide power to South Sudan.

“We are very much willing to help develop this project with the required finance if needed,” Xin was quoted as telling the president.

The statement stated that Museveni endorsed Sinohydro’s proposal to carry out the project. Uganda and South Sudan inked a power sales deal in June of last year, enabling Uganda to sell electricity to South Sudan.

To enable Uganda to export electricity to South Sudan, the two nations inked a power sales deal in June of last year. The Chinese firm is completing a $1.5 billion, 600-megawatt hydropower project on the River Nile in Northern Uganda that is meant to be the source for electricity exports to South Sudan.