The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has retained its standard lending rate, the Monetary Policy Rate (MPR) at 12 percent but announced that there will now be flexibility in the management of its Foreign Exchange .

The CBN Governor, Godwin Emefiele disclosed the decision of the Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) in Abuja after the end of a 2-day meeting held at the apex bank headquarters.

He further disclosed that the MPC took a decision to retain the Cash Reserve Requirement (CRR) at 22.5 per and the Liquidity Ratio at the current rate of 30 per cent.

With this new directive, the CBN would in the days ahead push out a new guideline on the management of foreign exchange in the country, which will allow the forces of demand and supply to determine exchange rate.

Recall that the apex bank had been pressured in the last few months to devalue the Naira.