CBN Shifts 2020 Monetary Policy Committee Meeting

Central bank of Nigeria (CBN) has rescheduled its first monetary policy committee meeting of 2020 to Jan. 23 and 24, postponing it by three days.

It announced this in a tweet on Monday. The meeting was originally scheduled for Jan. 20 and 21.

“The CBN (Central Bank of Nigeria) regrets any inconvenience this change may have caused its stakeholders and the general public,” the bank said in the tweet. It did not give a reason for the change.

A Central Bank spokesman declined to respond via text message on the reason for the change.

The Central Bank has held its benchmark interest rate at 13.5% since cutting it from 14% last March in a surprise move aimed at stimulating growth and signalling a new direction.

It was the first rate cut since November 2015, CBN Governor Godwin Emefiele, in November said, he expected the bank to maintain its stable exchange rate policy in the medium term and keep monetary policy tight in 2020 to combat inflation.

Annual inflation in November stood at 11.85%, the highest rate since April 2018. Economists say Nigeria’s closure of parts of its borders since August to fight smuggling of rice and other goods exacerbated inflation. – Reuters