The Central Bank of Nigeria’s (CBN) Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) has retained the Monetary Policy Rate (MPR), the country’s benchmark interest rate, at 26.5 per cent.
The decision was reached at the end of the committee’s 306th meeting, held in Abuja from July 20 to 21, 2026. Announcing the outcome on Tuesday, CBN Governor Olayemi Cardoso said the committee considered both domestic economic developments and growing global uncertainties before deciding to keep the benchmark rate unchanged.
“The Committee decided as follows: retain the monetary policy rate at 26.5 per cent,” Cardoso said.
According to him, while domestic economic indicators continue to reflect resilience following recent structural reforms, escalating geopolitical tensions, particularly in the Middle East, pose significant risks to global energy prices and domestic inflation.
The MPC also retained the Standing Facilities Corridor around the MPR at +50/-450 basis points, the Cash Reserve Ratio (CRR) for Deposit Money Banks at 45 per cent, 16 per cent for merchant banks, and 75 per cent for non-TSA public sector deposits.
“The committee’s decision to maintain the current policy stance follows a thorough assessment of the balance of risks. Although headline inflation moderated marginally in June 2026, global uncertainties have heightened due mainly to the renewed hostilities in the Middle East,” Cardoso said.
Despite the external pressures, he noted that the Nigerian economy has “remained largely resilient to the shocks.”
The latest decision marks the second time this year that the MPC has left the benchmark interest rate unchanged.
The move comes days after the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) reported that Nigeria’s headline inflation eased slightly to 15.91 per cent in June 2026 from 15.93 per cent in May.
According to the NBS Consumer Price Index (CPI) report, the June figure represents a 0.02 percentage-point decline from the previous month and marks the first drop in the country’s headline inflation rate in three months.
