*Says Bank To Share Details Of Net Reserves Regularly From 2025
The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) is prepared to use any “tools at our disposal” to manage inflation, according to its governor, Olayemi Cardoso on Tuesday.
Cardoso told the FT Africa Summit in London that while he expected headline inflation to moderate in the coming months, food inflation was “proving stickier”.
According to Reuters, Cardoso assured that the bank was working closely with the government to address this.
Despite criticisms of the reforms that have continued to impoverish the people and distort economic indicators, he expressed confidence, advising that the country must not slacken in its reform drive as it is beginning to attract “growing and serious interest” from foreign investors.
He cited recent visits to the country by Citigroup CEO Jane Fraser and JPMorgan’s Jamie Dimon, as explicit confidence in the reforms.
“There’s an enormous amount of interest now, recognizing the fact that the Nigerian currency is relatively moderated and has made our economy a lot more competitive.”
However, annual inflation in Africa’s most populous country accelerated in September for the first time in three months, reaching 32.70 percent, spurred by higher food and energy costs.
Price pressures have been exacerbated by the government’s decision to scrap petrol and electricity subsidies and to devalue the naira twice since President Bola Tinubu took over last year.
The naira is worth only a quarter of its value when Tinubu took office, while fuel prices are five times higher.
Cardoso said measures introduced by the central bank to restore investor confidence were working and that there were now “minimal” complaints about lack of access to foreign exchange compared to “before, when only a handful of people could get it”.
“Now, the market is a lot deeper… and it (forex) is available,” he said.
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Gross foreign exchange reserves now stand above $40 billion, and the governor said the central bank would share details about the net reserves regularly from early 2025 in the interests of greater transparency.
Cardoso said economic growth might remain moderate next year, in line with a World Bank estimate for 2025 of around 3.6%, up slightly from an expected 3.3% this year.
“With the reforms that are being taken right now, it will put Nigeria in a far better position to see the increase on the growth side,” he said.
