Tonix Pharmaceuticals stock halted ahead of FDA approval news
* Benchmark lending rate held at 11.5%
* No changes to FX management, Emefiele says
(Adds governor, VP comments on FX)
By Chijioke Ohuocha and Paul Carsten
ABUJA, March 23 (Reuters) - Nigeria's central bank held its
benchmark lending rate at 11.5% on Tuesday, said Governor Godwin
Emefiele, who also denied that the country is adopting a new
foreign exchange management policy.
The rate decision would allow the bank "to deploy liquidity
into employment generation and output-stimulating sectors of the
economy," Emefiele said, speaking at a briefing to announce the
decision.
"This would help consolidate the country's recovery
process," he said.
The bank cut rates twice last year to try to stimulate an
economy that has been hobbled by the COVID-19 pandemic and an
oil price crash.
A third of Nigeria's workforce are now out of work and the
economy expanded just 0.11% in the fourth quarter. Lower oil
receipts have weakened its currency, the naira NGN= , and
inflation climbed to a four-year peak in February as food prices
jumped more than 20%. Few analysts expected the central bank to either raise or
lower the 11.5% base rate, given Nigeria's low growth and high
inflation.
NO NEW FX POLICY
The governor also addressed reports Nigeria is unifying its
foreign exchange rates, which the International Monetary Fund
and World Trade Organization have for years said should be
liberalised.
Nigeria has not changed its foreign exchange management
policies, Emefiele said.
At another event Tuesday Vice President Yemi Osinbajo said
payments made as part of Nigeria's federal allocation will use
the Nafex foreign exchange rate, when asked about reported plans
for a unified flexible exchange rate rather than a pegged one.
Nafex is a spot market rate quoted by investors and for imports.
"The federal allocation account is the account where funds
go, funds that are shared between the federal and the state
governments," he said
"In the past week, the past two weeks, we've seen some
momentum (from the central bank) towards greater unity of the
exchange rates."