The Monetary Policy Committee of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has retained the Monetary Policy Rate (MPR) at 6.25 percent.
The apex bank, in a statement issued in Lagos on Tuesday said this was one of the decisions taken at the meeting of the MPC held between Monday and Tuesday.
It said MPC also decided to maintain a stable exchange rate policy while continuing to monitor inflationary trends with a view to taking appropriate steps as and when necessary.
"On the stance of monetary policy in the year ahead, the Committee reaffirmed that monetary policy would seek to exert pressure on aggregate demand, thereby helping to lower inflation expectations," the CBN said.
"In addition, monetary policy would stand ready to provide adequate and timely liquidity to support credit dynamics that would sustain fiscal mechanisms to bolster growth," it added.
The statement said the gross external reserves of the country stood at 34.27 billion U.S. dollars as at Nov. 15, 2010.
The figure was an improvement over the 33.597 billion dollars recorded at the end of October and 34.59 billion dollars at the end of September, the CBN said.
"The committee noted the elevated demand for foreign exchange at the WDAS which led to an increase in reserve utilization to defend the currency," it added.
"It also noted recent moderation of demand pressure following Central Bank's interventions to curtail speculative demand," it said.
