Expert suggests change in rates as CBN holds 2-day MPC meeting

A Financial Expert, Okechukwu Unegbu, has urged the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) to ensure a complete review in all the rates in Monetary Policy Rates.

Unegbu gave the advice ahead of the CBN two-day Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) meeting for July on Monday.

Our correspondent reports that the apex bank and increased the Monetary Policy Rate (MPR) from 11.5 to 13 per cent in the last MPC meeting in May, the first change after over two years.

It, however, held all other parameters constant.

Unegbu said that heightening inflation and other economic challenges required the CBN to take all-encompassing look at the rates to meet with global economic trend.

Meanwhile, analysts from Afrinvest Limited projected that the MPC would maintain the MPR at its July meeting.

According to the analysts, the increase in the MPR in May failed to have an immediate impact on inflation due to weak and delayed transmission mechanism of monetary policy.

“We believe the MPC will retain status-quo on MPR.

“Our hold-steady outlook is premised on the expectation that the committee will prefer to give more time to assess the impact of the last policy change,” they said.

According to analysts from Cowry Assets Management Limited, global macro-economic stability is now under threat from inflation.

“Thus the policy changes in responding to it will have substantial repercussions across emerging and frontier markets economies.

“”However, we see the acceleration in the inflation numbers in June offering policy makers limited room to maneuver rates.

“Thus, we project the July inflation to further accelerate to 18.90 per cent,” they said.