The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has decided to keep its reference interest rate unchanged at 27.5% after six successive hikes in 2024, a decision taken at the end of the first meeting of the Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) of 2025, a decision taken at the end of the first meeting of the Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) of 2025, held on Thursday, February 20, 2025.

The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) decided to maintain its key interest rate at 27.50% at the end of the Monetary Policy Committee (CPM) meeting on 19 and 20 February 2025. This unanimous decision by the twelve members of the committee illustrates the desire of the monetary authorities to curb inflation, while maintaining the relative stability of the foreign exchange market

In addition to maintaining the key rate, the CBN has kept its other monetary instruments unchanged: the reserve requirement rate for deposit banks remains at 50%, that of investment banks remains at 50%, that of investment banks at 16%, the liquidity rate is maintained at 30%.

These choices are part of a context where inflation, which reached 24.48% in January 2025, continues to weigh on the Nigerian economy. According to the governor of the CBN, Olayemi Cardoso, these measures aim to “anchor inflationary expectations and stabilize the foreign exchange market”, a major challenge for the country while the naira is still under pressure

A foreign exchange market under surveillance

The stability of the naira is another CBN priority. For several months, the institution has been trying to reduce the gap between the official exchange rate and that of the parallel market, a distortion that fuels speculation. To this end, the Central Bank has put in place tools such as the B-Match system, which is supposed to improve the transparency and liquidity of the currency market

In addition, the rise in oil production, which reached 1.54 million barrels per day in January 2025, could offer a break by strengthening the country's foreign exchange reserves. These amounted to 39.4 billion dollars in mid-February, equivalent to 9.6 months of imports. A level considered comfortable, but which depends heavily on the evolution of world oil prices.