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Private sector concerned as Nigeria’s central bank raises interest rate to 26.25%

Published

1 month ago

May 22, 2024

The decision of Nigeria’s central bank’s Monetary Policy Committee to raise the country’s benchmark interest rate has alarmed members of the organized private sector and economists alike, some of whom believe it will severely impair the ability of business operators to repay their debts.

The decision of the committee was declared by Olayemi Cardoso, the governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria and chairman of the MPC, after the latter’s 295th meeting on Tuesday.

The interest rate was increased by 150 basis points by the MPC, from 24.74% to 26.25%. The benchmark interest rate increased for the third time this year on Tuesday with the MPR boost.

The policymakers raised the MPR by 750 basis points since the MPC reconvened in February. In February, the MPR jumped from 18.55% to 22.75%, a 400 basis point rise. In March, it was raised by 200 basis points to 24.75%.

Cardoso said, “The key focus of the MPC at this meeting remained to achieve price stability by effectively using tools available to the monetary authority to rein in inflation. Members observed that while year-on-year headline inflation in April 2024 rose moderately, the month-on-month measures of headline, food and core all declined significantly. This follows a decline (month-on-month) of headline and food measures in March 2024, suggesting that the recent tight monetary policy stance of the Bank is beginning to yield the desired outcomes.”

Cardoso added, “For the first time since October, we have seen a relatively significant moderation in the rate of increase and that is working. I believe very strongly that the tool that the central bank is using is working. I have said it before, there is no magic wand, these are things that need to take their own time. I’m confident and the figures show that we are beginning to get some relief and I believe in a couple of more months, we will see some positive reports on the effects of what the CBN is doing.”

Cardoso defended the decision to raise the MPR once more during a press conference on Tuesday following the MPC meeting. In the face of an uncertain economic environment, the MPC has remained hawkish in its approach to combating inflation.

Nigeria’s inflation rate increased to 33.69% in April. As compared to the headline inflation rate for March 2024, the National Bureau of Statistics reports that the headline inflation rate for April 2024 increased by 0.49 percentage points.

According to the NBS, the headline inflation rate increased by 11.47 percentage points year over year from the 22.22% rate reported in April 2023. In April 2024, food inflation was 40.53%. Cardoso stated that the MPC has connected the ongoing naira volatility to the principles of the free market.

“Members further observed the recent volatility in the foreign exchange market attributing this to seasonal demand, a reflection of the interplay between demand and supply of a freely functioning market system. The committee also noticed the marginal increase in the foreign reserve between March and April 2024,” he said.

Segun Kuti-George, National Vice Chairman of the Nigerian Association of Small-Scale Industrialists, denounced the Interest Rate Increase by MPC. At a time when many firms were depending on loans to operate, Kuti-George argued it was callous to keep rising interest rates.

He said, “That is the only thing they know. The only thing they know is to increase the interest rate. As long as the industrial sector cannot access cheap funds, we are joking. We cannot be talking about economic development.”

In addition, Gabriel Idahosa, the president of the Lagos Chamber of Commerce and Industry, who disagreed with the rate hike, charged that the CBN was employing the incorrect measure to combat inflation.

Idahosa said, “The CBN is like a farmer that does not have any other tool. So, they are stuck with one tool. We just came out of a consultation session and this was the issue. The CBN is driving a metric that is not related to the problem.

“The problem is the cost of production. It has nothing to do with interest rates. It is not advisable to keep raising the interest rates, but they have run out of ideas and they don’t want to be seen to do nothing.”

Related Topics:CBN Featured Interest rate Nigeria

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In Nigeria’s northeast, more than 1,800 gas stations shut over smuggling

Published

18 hours ago

June 25, 2024

Ifeoluwa Dada

Nigeria’s local head of petroleum marketers stated that around 2,000 gas stations in the northeastern part of the country were closed over an anti-smuggling operation that targeted particular operators, forcing drivers to purchase gasoline on the black market.

The Nigeria Customs Service impounded tanker trucks and closed some fuel outlets on suspicion that they were smuggling gasoline to neighbouring Cameroon. This led to the suspension of operations at gas stations, according to Dahiru Buba, the chairman of the Independent Petroleum Marketers Association of Nigeria (IPMAN) for the states of Taraba and Adamawa.

For years, low-cost gasoline smuggled from Nigeria has been the main source of income for black-market fuel merchants in Cameroon, Benin and Togo.

That black market commerce collapsed when Nigeria eliminated its petrol subsidy last year, but since June 2023, Nigeria has capped the price of the commodity, even if its currency has sharply declined. As a result, the product is now once again cheaper.

Under “Operation Whirlwind”, Customs initially impounded some tanker trucks belonging to IPMAN members and released them after the association protested. But more trucks were seized and several fuel stations were shut, forcing fuel station operators to close outlets en-masse in protest, said Buba.

“We wrote to them (Nigeria Customs) again but there were no responses that is why we decided to go on strike,” he said, adding that over 1,800 outlets had ceased to operate.
“This is our business and we cannot be quiet when our members are treated this way.”

According to Taraba and Adamawa Customs spokeswoman Mangsi Lazarus, tanker trucks were impounded because they were being used to transport gasoline.

Black market dealers swiftly capitalized on the shortages in Adamawa’s capital city of Yola, selling gasoline for 1,400 naira ($0.9459) per liter instead of the 650–750 naira it was selling for at the pump.

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Ghana, bondholders finalize preliminary $13 billion debt agreement

Published

18 hours ago

June 25, 2024

Ifeoluwa Dada

Ghana announced on Monday that it had reached the final stages of a debt reform, becoming the second African nation this month, after reaching an agreement in principle with two bondholder organizations to restructure over $13 billion of its debt.

Under the terms of the agreement, bondholders in Ghana will forfeit around $4.7 billion of their loans, resulting in approximately $4.4 billion in cash flow relief until 2026, when the country’s current International Monetary Fund (IMF) programme ends.

“The formal launch of the consent solicitation is expected in the upcoming weeks,” the proposal, if approved, would allow the nation to avoid default, the administration stated, alluding to the process of presenting the proposal to all of its bondholders.

The initial information about the agreement, which will essentially equate to a 37% “haircut” in the bond market, was released by Reuters on Thursday.

The accord was deemed “a significant positive step” for Ghana by the IMF. The committee on behalf of its foreign bondholders declared that it would provide a route for the nation’s economic recuperation.

Following Ghana’s recent arrangement with its bilateral creditors and another slow-moving restructuring in Zambia earlier this month, the deal was made quickly.

The 18 months Ghana took “has been much faster” than Zambia’s, according to S&P Global Market Intelligence analyst Theo Acheampong, and this could help the country recover. A request for response was not answered by the Paris Club of Creditor Nations, which typically handles communications for official creditors.

However, the government noted that the official creditor committee, which is co-chaired by China and France, considered the deal to be a reasonable starting point for discussing its “Comparability of Treatment” concept, which is an analysis meant to make sure bondholders don’t receive too favourable conditions.

Bondholders now own two choices. One is a “disco bond,” with maturities spanning from 2026 to 2029 and an interest rate of 5% that will increase to 6% after mid-2028. It involves a 37% haircut or write-down of “principle.”

The second is a $1.6 billion par bond option with three instruments, the principal of which will mature in 2037 with no haircut other than a write-down of past-due interest and pay a 1.5% yield.

The government stated that about a different bond that is partially guaranteed by the World Bank, the unprotected section will be regarded similarly to the other portion of the nation’s bonds, and the multilateral lender will completely pay the guaranteed portion to investors.