Ahead of its first Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) meeting slated for next month, the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has said, once it achieves its 2024 inflation target of 21.4 per cent, it plans to scale back monetary policy to lower interest rates to stimulate economic growth. This is as an economist analyst advised the MPC to raise the Monetary Policy Rate (MPR) to increase the real interest rate and encourage investment. CBN’s deputy governor, Economic Policy, Muhammad S.
Abdullahi while speaking in Lagos yesterday, said that the implemented monetary and fiscal policies will lead to a relaxation of foreign exchange constraints in the foreseeable future. On the other hand, Chief Consultant of B. Adedipe Associates Ltd, Dr ‘Biodun Adedipe, said that the current situation in Nigeria with a high inflation rate and low interest rates had led to a negative real interest rate, which in turn had been discouraging investment. According to him, negative real interest rate occurs when the inflation rate subtracted from the interest rate results in a negative valu