CBN Retains Interest Rate at 27% as Inflation Falls for Seventh Straight Month

|By Babatunji Wusu

The Central Bank of Nigeria has held firm on its monetary stance, retaining the benchmark interest rate at 27 per cent after its 303rd Monetary Policy Committee meeting in Abuja on Tuesday.

Governor Olayemi Cardoso said the committee voted to maintain all key monetary indicators, signalling the apex bank’s cautious approach despite easing inflationary pressures. Nigeria recorded its seventh consecutive month of declining inflation, which dropped to 16.05 per cent in September 2025.

Cardoso confirmed that the Cash Reserve Ratio (CRR) remains 45 per cent for commercial banks and 16 per cent for merchant banks, while the 75 per cent CRR on non-TSA public sector deposits stays unchanged. The MPC also kept the Liquidity Ratio at 30 per cent and adjusted the Standing Facilities Corridor to +50/-450 basis points around the Monetary Policy Rate.

The decision underscores the bank’s strategy to anchor inflation expectations while sustaining stability in the financial system.