STORY: Nigerian central bank further raises interest rate to over 26 pct
SHOOTING TIME: May 22, 2024
DATELINE: May 23, 2024
LENGTH: 00:01:09
LOCATION: Abuja
CATEGORY: ECONOMY

SHOTLIST:
1. various of a busy street in Nigeria
2. various of the central bank building
3. various of press briefing by central bank officials
4. SOUNDBITE (English): YEMI CARDOSO, Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria

STORYLINE:

Nigeria's central bank on Tuesday further raised the benchmark interest rate, pushing it by 150 basis points to 26.25 percent, in a move to combat the country's persistent inflation.
   
This latest hike marks a continuation of Nigeria's aggressive monetary tightening strategy aimed at stabilizing the economy. It is the third consecutive one this year, since February, to raise the baseline interest rate known as the monetary policy rate.
   
Yemi Cardoso, governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria, who chairs the Monetary Policy Committee, told the media at the end of a meeting in the capital of Abuja that the key focus of the committee remained to achieve price stability by effectively using tools available to the monetary authority to reign in inflation.

SOUNDBITE (English): YEMI CARDOSO, Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria
"The Monetary Policy Committee raised the MPR (monetary policy rate) by 150 basis points to 26.25 percent from 24.75 percent."

While the cash reserve ratio was retained at 45 percent, the liquidity ratio was retained at 30 percent.

Nigeria's headline inflation rate rose to 33.69 percent in April, compared to 33.20 percent in the previous month, according to the latest data from the National Bureau of Statistics.

Xinhua News Agency correspondents reporting from Abuja.
(XHTV)