14 September 2018: The window for the Central Bank of Nigeria to cut interest rates just narrowed following reports of Nigeria’s inflation rate rising to 11.23% in August.

Inflation in Africa’s largest economy has jumped for the first time in over one year thanks to rising food prices. It must be kept in mind that for an extended period, the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) was waiting for inflation to reach single digits before cutting interest rates to support growth. Now that consumer prices are at risk of rebounding further as pre-election spending triggers demand-pull inflation, the CBN could be forced to remain on standby this year. An interest rate cut has the ability to stimulate economic growth in Nigeria. However, it may end up triggering capital outflows as the monetary divergence between the Fed and CBN widens.

Source: Lukman Otunuga, Research Analyst at FXTM

Reporting for EasyKobo on Friday , 14 September 2018 in Lagos, Nigeria