Nigeria’s inflation will continue to decline on CBN’s policy, stable Naira – Cardoso

The Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria, OlayemiCardoso, said the country’s inflation will continue to slide downwards,propelled by tight monetary conditions, a stable Naira, and an increased foodsupply. Cardoso made this known at the ongoing annual meetings ofthe International Monetary Fund and the World Bank Group in Washington DC,United States, according to a statement from the apex bank on Thursday. These comments come as the country’s inflation rate droppedfor the sixth time to 18.02 per cent in September, which the CBN described asthe lowest in three years. Reacting at the WBG-IMF meetings in Washington, US, Cardososaid, “We expect inflation to continue to trend downward in the near term,supported by tight monetary conditions, a stable Naira, and increased foodsupply.” The CBN said the sustained decline marks a significantreversal from the inflationary peak of 34.19 per cent in June 2024, reflectingthe impact of the Central Bank of Nigeria’s (CBN) decisive monetary policyactions to restore price stability and anchor expectations. Recall that the CBN Monetary Policy Committee, in itsSeptember 2025 meeting, eased slightly, lowering the interest rate by 50 basispoints to 27.00 per cent and the CRR for commercial banks to 45 per cent, whilemaintaining a firm anti-inflationary stance. Similarly, the CBN’s monetary tightening was complemented byreforms in the foreign exchange market, including exchange rate unification andenhanced transparency to improve price discovery in the market. The Naira hassince stabilised, with the spread between the official and Bureau de Change(BDC) rates narrowing to below 2 per cent. Also, improved liquidity in the FXmarket in the past months has helped reduce the pass-through of importedinflation and reinforced price stability. The apex bank’s data showed that foreign reserves remainbetween $42.67 billion and $43 billion, providing more than eleven months offorward import cover, supported by sustained forex inflows. The CBN, in the statement, stressed that it remainscommitted to strengthening the disinflation trend, supported by a combinationof exchange rate stability, durable improvements in food supply, and continuedmoderation in petroleum product prices.

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