April 5 (Lagos) - The much-awaited first monetary policy committee (MPC) meeting of 2018 ended with the status quo unchanged, as Nigeria’s new monetary policy chiefs came down on the side of consensus expectation to hold all policy levers.
The newly constituted committee acknowledged the gains from looser monetary policy in terms of supporting economic growth but cautioned against this in order to maintain price and foreign exchange stability.
Moreover, the committee expressed pleasure at the evolution of macroeconomic indicators in the 21 months since the last change in interest rates and stressed the continuing need to allow current levers to work through to the real economy
The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) Governor was eager to thank the President and the National Assembly for nominating and approving the new members of the MPC.
And as he officially introduced and welcomed the incoming members, he assured observers of their competence and commitment, whilst pointing out that they had undertaken a rigorous induction to ensure they understood the scale of responsibility that comes with MPC membership.
The Governor also dismissed the notion that the “Hold” decision was motivated by the inexperience of the committee, stressing that all committee decisions are made based on the available data.
In the same vein, analysts at Vetiva Capital Management Ltd in Victoria Island had earlier suggested that the incoming members had the requisite knowledge and experience in the field to adjudicate on monetary policy decisions, irrespective of the length of their tenure.
reporting for easykobo.com on Thursday, April 5 2018 from Lagos, Nigeria