Governor Olayemi Cardoso said the central bank of Nigeria (CBN) aims to reduce inflation to medium numbers.
Speaking in Abuja after the 299th Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) meeting, Cardoso talked about the recent re-select of the Consumer Price Index (CPI) that brings inflation in Nigeria The rate decreased from 34.8% to 24.8%. He stressed that the new inflation figures better reflect the country’s economic reality and are aligned with global best practices.
“Despite positive shifts in inflation figures, MPC chose to maintain current MPR to ensure sustained economic stability,” he said. “As always, we are data-driven. What we have is CPI, it’s more Reflecting the consumption pattern. To this extent, people praised the NBS for bringing it into reality.”
The CBN Governor reiterated the bank’s commitment to closely monitor domestic and global risks to ensure positive measures are taken to protect the economy. “We will definitely stay. We will be on guard. We won’t take anything for granted,” he said.
Cardoso acknowledged that inflation had been too long and therefore reiterated the bank’s goal of reducing it to unit numbers over time. “From the long term, our goal is to make sure we can lower it from double digits to unit numbers,” he said. “As we continue to adopt policies, we believe that the path of travel will move in that direction. ”
He stressed that achieving this goal would require stronger cooperation between the monetary and fiscal authorities. “I will deceive you that the Ministry of Finance will do it by itself and the currency will do it by itself. No,” he pointed out. “Coordination has always been important. But it seems to me that it is not the case at any time, because we can see positive direction changes and we need not only maintenance and holding, but also improvements.”
According to Cardoso, the recent monetary policy forum that brings fiscal and monetary authorities together marks an important step towards better coordination and economic stability.
In Nigeria’s external reserves, he revealed that as of February 14, they were priced at $39.4 billion, providing 9.6 months of imported covers of goods and services. However, data from the CBN website showed a decline, with reserves falling to February 19, down to $38.7 billion, down $261.5 million.
Despite a slight decline, Cardoso stressed that ongoing CBN reforms such as the Electronic Forex Matching System (EFEM) and the new Forex Code (FX) Code (FX) Code (FX) Code (FX) Code (FX) Code (FX) Code (FX) Code (FX) Code (FX) Code (FX) Code (FX) Code (FX) Code ( Confidence and stabilized NAIRA and contributed to the growth of external reserves.
