Multiple interest rate hikes has restored confidence in Naira - Cardoso

Olayemi Cardoso, Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has said that multiple interest rate hikes have restored confidence in the naira.

Speaking at a press conference after the monetary policy committee’s (MPC) 297th meeting in Abuja, Cardoso highlighted how the consecutive interest rate hikes encouraged people to view the currency differently.

“There was a situation where exchange rate was really running at an incredible pace and people were beginning to lose confidence in the currency,” Cardoso stated. “We believe that these multiple hikes have helped for people to now begin to take a different look at their currency, and there is a greater incentive to hold naira as opposed to a situation that we had before where this was not the case.”

The MPC has raised the monetary policy rate (MPR) from 22.75 percent in February to 27.25 percent in September this year, a move aimed at moderating inflation and stabilizing the naira.