BY OUR REPORTERS–-The Central Bank of Nigeria’s Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) has retained the Monetary Policy Rate (MPR) at 11.5 per cent.
The MPC also retained the asymmetric corridor of +100/-700 basis points around the MPR; retain the CRR at 27.5 per cent; and retain the Liquidity Ratio at 30 per cent.
Speaking after a two-day meeting on 23rd of March 2021 , Godwin I. Emefiele, Governor, Central Bank of Nigeria who red the communiqué of the meeting said the dilemma that confronted the MPC related to whether to continue to focus on efforts to stimulate outputs or whether to focus on reining in inflation, which(at 17.33 per cent) “is almost attaining the January 2017 inflation level of 18.72 per cent.
“MPC was also worried that the level of unemployment must be addressed swiftly to moderate the restiveness among the populace. Again, members were generally of the view that given that the exit from recession is fragile, any decision to tighten or rein-in inflation, may reverse the fragile recovery and return the economy into recession.”
In the light of the foregoing, he said the consensus among MPC members was that, given that inflation “is substantially a supply side phenomenon, there is need to continue to focus on consolidation o the recovery process, by taking those actions that would continue to stimulate output growth, create employment, but at the same time have an eye on effort to moderate the inflationary pressure; using the current administrative measures being adopted by the Bank in controlling monetary aggregates in the banking system.”
In its consideration of whether to tighten, hold or loosen, therefore, he said the Committee felt that with inflation at a 3-year high and price stability being the Bank’s core mandate, a contractionary policy stance may be required to tame the rising trend.
“ It nevertheless feels that tightening will hike the cost of capital and hamper investments required to create employment and continue to boost recovery,” he said.
“On the other hand, MPC thinks that whereas loosening would lower rate and improve access to credit which will drive investment, reduce unemployment and stimulate aggregate demand, it feels that loosening will create excess liquidity, which will intensify demand pressure on the foreign exchange market, thereby leading to further depreciation in the currency.
“It, therefore, feels that a hold position which encourages Management to continue to use its various intervention mechanisms to deploy liquidity into employment generation and output stimulating sectors of the economy would be desirable as this would help consolidate the country’s recovery process.
“The Committee, therefore, decided by a vote of 3 members to increase MPR by 50, 75 and 50 basis points respectively, and 6 members voted to hold all parameters constant.”
To arrive at the decision, he said the Committee noted the moderate recovery in output growth in the fourth quarter of 2020, associated mainly to the positive impacts of the several monetary and fiscal measures implemented to reflate the economy, following the negative consequences of the Covid-19 pandemic.
“This, in the Committee’s consideration, provides an opportunity for further consolidation as most projections suggest substantial recovery in several economies across the globe. However, the Committee was not oblivious of the downside risks to the broad outlook for recovery in 2021, as efforts to achieve herd immunity continued to face significant headwinds,” he said.
He said the Committee welcomed the current efforts by the government and other support agencies in procuring vaccines and thus, urged the quick and efficient deployment of the vaccines to support ongoing monetary and fiscal stimulus towards full recovery of the economy in 2021 and into 2022.
“Members expressed concerns about the unabated rising trend of domestic prices and re-emphasized the exigency for monetary and fiscal policy collaboration to finance productive ventures, improve aggregate supply and push down prices,” he said.
“The MPC reiterated its concerns on the activities of persons and groups causing security challenges in the food producing areas of the country, as this has contributed to the major uptick in food prices across the country. The Committee, thus called for a collaborative and coordinated efforts by all the relevant agencies and stakeholders towards addressing the prevailing insecurity issues and social challenges. The Committee also called on the government to explore the option of effective partnership with the private sector to improve funding sources necessary to address the huge infrastructural financing deficit.
“Considering the foregoing, the MPC noted that fiscal headroom remained constrained and fragile, following the twin shocks of the pandemic and oil price volatility and the continued build-up of public debt.
“The MPC noted the Bank’s innovative efforts towards maintaining exchange rate stability. It also impressed on the Management to remain focused on its drive to increase accretion to reserves, especially in its recent incentives to attract diaspora remittances into the country.
“The Committee welcomed the relative strengthening of the money market compared from its position at the end of the lockdown. Mindful of the risks confronting the economy, it emphasised the need for the fiscal authority to improve the investment climate towards attracting sustainable Foreign Direct Investment (FDI).
“The Committee commended the Bank for maintaining a robust regulatory environment despite these challenging times by ensuring that non-performing loans (NPL) ratio is driven down to prudential level, even as aggregate credit continue to grow in a market confronted with relative uncertainties.
“In summary, the MPC noted the overarching need to address the twin major challenges of taming the rising inflation and sustaining growth recovery in the economy, while focusing on the downside risks associated with the injections.”
