The Central Bank of Nigeria cut its benchmark interest rate by 350 basis points to 23 percent on Tuesday, the Monetary Policy Committee announced after its 307th meeting.
The committee, with 11 members in attendance, lowered the Monetary Policy Rate from 26.5 percent in a move that followed its decision in July to hold the rate steady.
It also recalibrated the Standing Facilities Corridor around the new rate to +50/-300 basis points, setting the Standing Lending Facility at 23.5 percent and the Standing Deposit Facility at 20 percent.
Cash reserve requirements were left unchanged. Deposit money banks will continue to maintain a 45 percent CRR, merchant banks 16 percent, and non-Treasury Single Account public sector deposits 75 percent.
The decision came as headline inflation stood at 15.39 percent in August, according to the National Bureau of Statistics. The new MPR remains above the latest inflation reading.
The adjustment leaves reserve requirements intact while lowering the policy rate and resetting the corridor that guides short-term money market rates.
