Nigeria’s economy will not be hit by plans by the US Fed and other advanced economies to normalise policy rates, Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) Governor Godwin Emefiele said on Tuesday.
Emefiele was addressing a press conference to announce the outcomes of the two day meeting of the CBN Monetary Policy Committee ((MPC) which held all policy parameters constant, citing the need to wait out the impact of ongoing measures to tame inflation and drive growth. The MPC left the Monetary Policy Rate (MPR) steady at 11.5%, Cash Reserve Ratio (CRR) at 27.4%, Liquidity Ratio (LR) at 30% and asymmetric corridor around the MPR at +100/-700 basis points.
Speaking to the concerns that the planned rate hike by the FED and advanced economies could result in capital outflows from the emerging and developing economies which in turn could exacerbate foreign exchange pressures, he said there was nothing to worry about as the said capital did not flow into Nigeria in the first place.
He also explained that those countries raising rates are rather concerned about rising inflation and capital outflows from their economies. “There’s nothing to worry about. We are not in that game with them,” Emefiele stated.
