The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has decided to maintain the country's interest rate at 27.50 percent, following the unanimous agreement of its Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) at its 300th meeting held in Abuja on Tuesday.

CBN Governor Olayemi Cardoso, who announced the decision during a press briefing, cited the recent moderation in Nigeria's inflation rate as a key factor behind the decision to pause further rate hikes.

"The committee unanimously agreed to retain MPR at 27.50 percent," Cardoso stated, referring to the Monetary Policy Rate which serves as the benchmark interest rate for the Nigerian economy.

In addition to maintaining the interest rate, the MPC also retained other key monetary policy parameters. These include the Cash Reserve Ratio (CRR) at 50 basis points for commercial banks and 16 percent for mortgage banks, the Liquidity Ratio (LR) at 30 percent, and the asymmetric corridor at +500/-100 basis points around the MPR.

The decision comes as Nigeria's inflation rate showed signs of easing, dropping to 23.7 percent in April according to the latest Consumer Price Index (CPI) data released by the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) last week. This marks a continued moderation in the country's inflation figures, which has influenced the CBN's stance on monetary policy.

This is the second consecutive MPC meeting where the interest rate has been maintained at 27.50 percent, following a similar decision in February when inflation had also shown signs of cooling off.

The CBN's decision reflects a cautious approach to monetary policy as the apex bank continues to monitor economic indicators while working to achieve price stability and support economic growth in Nigeria.