Nigeria says inflation outlook mix in Q1, retains MPR at 14 pct

The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) said the outlook for inflation growth remain mix in the first quarter of the year due to spending on political activities, surge in insurgency and herdsmen killing in some part of the north.
The regulatory bank also retained monetary policy rate at 14 percent, saying tightening rate will damping investment and output growth.
The outlook for inflation in the first half of 2019 is mixed, with the expectation of an increase in the near-term before a gradual decline towards the mid- 6 year.
“Inflation is expected to rise marginally amidst palpable tailwinds, which include increased spending preparatory to the 2019 general elections and continued disruptions to the food supply chain in the insurgency prone areas and herdsmen attack regions of the country.
The Committee observed that the near-term risks to inflation remain: the residual impact of flooding on agricultural output, insecurity in parts of the food producing belts of the country, exchange rate pass-through to inflation due to weakening oil price and campaign-related spending towards the 2019 general elections.
The MPC urged the government to sustain its current effort towards improving security to ease the food supply chain bottlenecks.

At the end of its first Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) meeting in 2019, the central bank governor, Godwin Emefiele disclosed that it would soon expand the list of items restricted from accessing foreign exchange on the official window.

He disclosed that once the bank can be ascertained that some of the items can be produced in the country; the CBN will place such items on no valid for forex.
The CBN will get more aggressive and ensure that all food that can be produced in Nigeria will be placed on forex restriction. Importers of such items will not be able to access forex from the official window, Emefiele said.
He also said the telecoms firm MTN has paid the fine imposed on it in lieu of initial directive on the illegally repatriated fund while the term of settlement already lodged with the federal high court.
MTN paid $53 million to settle a money transfer dispute with the bank.
The central bank had ordered MTN and its lenders to bring back a total of $8.1 billion it alleged the company had illegally repatriated using improperly issued paperwork between 2007 and 2008.



Emefiele said the money paid by MTN was a notional sum and that the company has been absolved from any wrongdoing