The Monetary Policy Committee( MPC), meeting of the Central Bank of Nigeria, CBN, which began on Monday, has ended with all key indicators retained.
It resolved to maintain the Monetary Policy Rate (MPR) also know as the lending rate , at 14 per cent, the Cash Reserve Ratio (CRR,) at 22.50 per cent and the Liquidity Ratio at 30 per cent.
The CBN Governor, Mr. Godwin Emefiele, who briefed newsmen on the outcome of the meeting of the ten member committee, explained that holding all the rates is best for the economy at the moment.
Following this, the Naira on Tuesday weakened against the dollar few hours after the CBN maintained its benchmark interest rate and endorsed the crackdown on parallel market traders by security operatives.
It lost N5 to exchange at N470 to the dollar at the parallel market from N465 it traded on Monday, while the Pound Sterling and the Euro closed at N565 and N495, respectively.
At the Bureau De Change (BDC) window, the naira was sold at N390, CBN controlled rate, while the Pound Sterling and the Euro closed at N562 and N500, respectively.
Trading at the interbank market showed that the naira remained stable at N305.00 to a dollar.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the CBN rose from its bi-monthly Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) meeting, retaining the Monetary Policy Ratio (MPR) at 14 per cent alongside other policy parameters.
The apex bank also charged security agents to sustain their checks on the activities of illegal foreign exchange operators in order to bring sanity to that segment of the market.
“The Committee reiterates that the extant foreign exchange regulation outlaws the trafficking of currency on the streets as some unlicensed operators currently do,’’ the CBN said.
Meanwhile, a currency trader, who spoke on condition of anonymity, told NAN that the raid on the market by security agents had forced them to go underground.
He noted that they still enjoy the patronage of their customers who understand their modus operandi.
