Economics
Nigeria Unexpectedly Cuts Key Rate on Recession Threat
- Monetary policy rate reduced to 2016-low of 11.5% from 12.5%
- Oil slump and currency constraints are weighing on output
This article is for subscribers only.
The Central Bank of Nigeria’s surprise interest-rate cut on concerns of a looming recession may be insufficient to boost growth in Africa’s largest economy.
Of the 10 members of the monetary policy committee who attended its meeting, six voted to lower the rate to 11.5% from 12.5%, Governor Godwin Emefiele said at a briefing in the capital, Abuja, on Tuesday. That’s the second cut this year and came even as inflation has been above target since 2015. All six economists in a Bloomberg survey expected the rate to remain unchanged.