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The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has rescheduled its 299th Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) meeting, which was originally planned for February 17-18, 2025. The meeting will now take place on February 18 and 19, 2025, according to a statement issued by the bank on Monday.
The change in dates comes after speculations arose due to delays in the release of the rebased Consumer Price Index (CPI) by the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS), which is a key economic indicator influencing the MPC’s decisions. The revised dates have now put those speculations to rest.
With the new meeting dates confirmed, economists and analysts are closely watching to see whether the committee will decide to retain or increase the Monetary Policy Rate (MPR), in response to current economic conditions. The decision will be crucial as the MPR impacts inflation and overall economic stability in the country.
The rescheduled MPC meeting follows the CBN’s earlier adjustment to the first MPC meeting of 2025, which was initially set for January 27-28 but was pushed to February to allow time for the release of updated inflation and GDP figures.
This is not the first time the CBN has postponed an MPC meeting under the leadership of Governor Olayemi Cardoso. After his appointment in September 2023, the CBN also postponed an MPC meeting, as investors and analysts awaited clarity on measures to address the country’s rising inflation.
The upcoming MPC meeting in February will be the second under Cardoso’s leadership, following the first meeting of 2024, which was held on February 26-27. As inflation trends play a significant role in the CBN’s monetary policy decisions, the delayed release of the rebased CPI has raised concerns about the timing of essential economic data ahead of the meeting.
The NBS typically publishes the CPI report on the 15th of each month. If the agency adheres to this schedule, the inflation report could be made available just three days before the rescheduled MPC meeting.
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