Nigeria's central bank says won't hold interest rate meeting, rate to be held at 14 pct

By Kitco News / January 21, 2018 / www.kitco.com / Article Link

ABUJA, Jan 22 (Reuters) - Nigeria's central bank said on Monday a key interest rate setting meeting intended for January 22-23 will not be held due to an inability to form a quorum, adding that the benchmark rate will be maintained at 14 percent.

The decision comes because there are not enough members of the Central Bank of Nigeria's (CBN's) Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) to form a quorum, the lender said in a statement.

"Under these circumstances, and in the absence of a meeting of the MPC, the CBN shall continue to maintain key monetary policy variables as decided by the last MPC meeting," the central bank said.

On Friday, Reuters reported that the interest rate meeting was unlikely to be held because several new members of the MPC have yet to be approved by lawmakers, according to two central bank sources. At least five of the MPC's 12 members are due to be replaced after retiring last year.

At the heart of the matter is a stand-off between the presidency and legislature over the latter's powers to confirm - or deny - executive nominees to key posts within the government.

After President Muhammadu Buhari appointed a top civil servant whose nomination Nigeria's Senate had blocked, the upper parliamentary chamber is now refusing to approve other presidential nominees, including those for the MPC.

On Friday, a presidency official said he did not know when the stand-off would be resolved but it was being addressed by Buhari's office.


(Reporting by Paul Carsten; Editing by Elaine Hardcastle)

Disclaimer: The views expressed in this article are those of the author and may not reflect those of Kitco Metals Inc. The author has made every effort to ensure accuracy of information provided; however, neither Kitco Metals Inc. nor the author can guarantee such accuracy. This article is strictly for informational purposes only. It is not a solicitation to make any exchange in commodities, securities or other financial instruments. Kitco Metals Inc. and the author of this article do not accept culpability for losses and/ or damages arising from the use of this publication.

Recent News

Mixed outlook for gold as it remains range bound for past three months

June 30, 2025 / www.canadianminingreport.com

Gold stocks down on flat metal price

June 30, 2025 / www.canadianminingreport.com

Gold stocks down on metal decline

June 23, 2025 / www.canadianminingreport.com

Huge quantifiable rise in geopolitical, economic and trade risks

June 23, 2025 / www.canadianminingreport.com

Platinum clearly ahead of palladium for first time in seven years

June 16, 2025 / www.canadianminingreport.com
See all >
Share to Youtube Share to Facebook Facebook Share to Linkedin Share to Twitter Twitter Share to Tiktok