The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has maintained the country's Monetary Policy Rate (MPR) at 27.50 percent, according to an announcement made by CBN Governor Olayemi Cardoso on Tuesday.

Speaking at a press briefing following the 300th Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) meeting in Abuja, Cardoso revealed that the decision was unanimously agreed upon by committee members.

"The committee unanimously agreed to retain MPR at 27.50 percent," Cardoso stated during the briefing.

In addition to maintaining the interest rate, the MPC also decided to keep other monetary policy parameters unchanged. 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 CBN Governor justified the committee's decision to pause any rate hikes, citing the recent easing of Nigeria's inflation rate, which dropped to 23.7 percent in April according to data released by the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) last week.

This marks the second consecutive time the CBN has maintained the interest rate at 27.50 percent, following a similar decision in February when inflation began showing signs of cooling off.

Economic analysts view this decision as a strategic move by the apex bank to balance the need for economic growth with ongoing efforts to control inflation, which remains significantly high despite the recent decline.

The CBN's monetary policy decisions are closely watched by investors, businesses, and ordinary Nigerians as they directly impact borrowing costs, investment decisions, and the overall economic climate in the country.