Nigeria Keeps Key Rate Unchanged at 14% as Economy Stutters
- The risks to the economy remain elevated, Emefiele says
- Inflation accelerated to 11-year high of 18.3% in October
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Nigeria’s central bank left its main lending rate unchanged for a second consecutive meeting as it tries to balance the needs of an economy that’s shrunk every quarter this year with an inflation rate that’s at the highest in more than a decade.
The Monetary Policy Committee held the benchmark rate a record-high 14 percent, Governor Godwin Emefiele told reporters Tuesday in the capital, Abuja. That was in line with the forecast of 18 of 20 economists surveyed by Bloomberg. One predicted a 100 basis-point increase and one said borrowing costs would be raised by 200 basis points.