MPC Holds Benchmark Interest Rate At 26.5% Again

The Monetary Policy Committee of the Central Bank of Nigeria has retained the Monetary Policy Rate at 26.5 per cent for the second consecutive meeting.

CBN governor, Olayemi Cardoso, announced the decision on Tuesday at the end of the committee’s 306th meeting in Abuja.

“The Committee decided as follows: retain the monetary policy rate at 26.5 per cent,” Cardoso said.

The decision follows the MPC’s previous decision to hold the benchmark interest rate after cutting it by 50 basis points in February 2026.

The committee’s latest decision comes despite a slight decline in Nigeria’s inflation rate.

According to the National Bureau of Statistics, the country’s headline inflation rate eased marginally to 15.91 per cent in June 2026 from 15.93 per cent recorded in May.

The June figure marks the first decline in headline inflation after three consecutive monthly increases, rising from 15.06 per cent in February to 15.38 per cent in March, 15.69 per cent in April and 15.93 per cent in May.

The MPR serves as the benchmark interest rate that guides borrowing costs across the economy and is one of the CBN’s primary tools for managing inflation and maintaining price stability.