Business
Inflation Hits 15.92%, Highest In Five Months
Nigeria’s Consumer Price Index rose to 15.92 per cent in March, latest figures from the National Bureau of Statistics show, The PUNCH reports.
This new rate is the highest the country has recorded since November 2021, when inflation rate dropped to 15.99 per cent.
The rise in the inflation rate in March shows that Nigeria is not left out in the global inflation surge currently being witnessed.
The United States’ labor department on Tuesday disclosed that the country’s inflation rate rose to 8.5 per cent in March, the highest since 1981.
The rise in global inflation rates has been associated with the rise in energy prices caused by the war between Russia and Ukraine
The NBS in its “CPI report for March 2022” revealed that Nigeria’s inflation fell by 2.25 per cent when compared to 18.7 percent in March 2021.
However, March’s inflation rate is 0.22 per cent higher than 15.70 per cent recorded in February.
The report said, “In March 2022, the consumer price index, which measures inflation increased to 15.92 percent on a year-on-year basis.
“This is 2.25 percent points lower compared to 18.17 percent, the rate recorded in March 2021. This means that the headline inflation rate slowed down in March 2022 when compared to the same month in the previous year.
“Increases were recorded in all COICOP divisions that yielded the headline index. On month-on-month basis, the headline index increased to 1.74 percent in March 2022, this is 0.11 percent points higher than the rate recorded in February 2022 (1.63 percent).”
READ ALSO: Nigeria’s Inflation Rate Drops To 15.60% In January
According to the NBS, the percentage change in the average composite CPI for the twelve months period ending March 2022 over the average previous twelve months period is 16.54 percent, showing a decrease of 0.19 percent compared to 16.73 percent recorded in February.
The urban inflation rate increased to 16.44 percent year-on-year in March showing a decline of 2.32 percent from the rate recorded in March 2021, the report noted.
Similarly, rural inflation increased to 15.42 percent in March 2022 with a decrease of 2.18 percent points from 17.60 percent recorded in March 2021.
In terms of food inflation, the NBS report revealed that the composite food index rose to 17.20 per cent in March from 17.11 per cent recorded in February.
The rise in inflation rate was attributed to increases in the price of food items such as bread, cereal, potatoes, yam and other tubers, fish, meat, among others.
Business
CBN Retains Interest Rate At 27%
The Monetary Policy Committee of the Central Bank of Nigeria has voted to retain the benchmark interest rate at 27 per cent.
CBN Governor, Olayemi Cardoso, announced the decision on Tuesday following the apex bank’s 303rd MPC meeting in Abuja.
Cardoso stated that the committee also resolved to keep all other monetary policy indicators unchanged.
READ ALSO:CBN Issues Directive Clarifying Holding Companies’ Minimum Capital
He noted that the Cash Reserve Ratio (CRR) remains at 45 per cent for commercial banks and 16 per cent for merchant banks, while the 75 per cent CRR on non-TSA public sector deposits was equally maintained.
Cardoso added that the Liquidity Ratio was retained at 30 per cent, and the Standing Facilities Corridor was adjusted to +50/-450 basis points around the Monetary Policy Rate.
The decision comes as Nigeria records its seventh consecutive month of declining inflation, which eased to 16.05 per cent in September 2025.
Business
CBN Issues Directive Clarifying Holding Companies’ Minimum Capital
The Central Bank of Nigeria, CBN, has issued a definitive directive detailing how financial holding companies should calculate their minimum paid-up capital, following weeks of confusion that delayed the release of some banks’ half-year and nine-month financial statements.
In a circular dated November 14, 2025, the apex bank acknowledged “divergent interpretations” of the term minimum paid-up capital as stated in Section 7.1 of the 2014 Guidelines for Licensing and Regulation of Financial Holding Companies.
To eliminate ambiguity, the CBN ruled that minimum paid-up capital must be computed strictly as the par value of issued shares plus any share premium arising from their issuance.
READ ALSO:CBN Sets POS Maximum Transactions In Fresh Guidelines
“All Financial Holding Companies are required to apply this definition in computing their minimum capital requirement—without exception for subsidiaries,” the circular stated.
The regulator added that the directive takes immediate effect, noting that any previous interpretation that does not align with the new clarification “should be discontinued forthwith.”
The move is expected to calm market anxiety and provide clarity for lenders navigating ongoing regulatory capital requirements.
Business
Naira Records Massive Week-on-week Depreciation Against US Dollar
The Nigerian Naira recorded massive week-on-week losses against the United States dollar at the official foreign exchange market.
The Central Bank of Nigeria’s exchange rate showed that the Naira dipped significantly to end the week at N1,456.73 on Friday, November 21, 2025, down from N1,442.43 traded on November 14.
This means that on a weekly basis, the Naira shed N14.06 against the dollar at the official market.
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However, at the black market, currently battling with low patronage, it remained stable at N1,465, the same rate traded last week.
The development comes despite Nigeria’s foreign reserves rising by 1.25 per cent to $43.64 billion in the last week.
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