Overnight lending rate among banks on Tuesday, January 26, spiked to 6.333 per cent from 1 per cent which it was on Monday as traders held back in anticipation of the decision of the Monetary Policy Committee (MPC).
The MPC yesterday ended its meeting in Abuja, maintaining status quo on its monetary policies and took the move to devalue the currency as many analysts had anticipated.
Analysts had prior to the meeting projected that the committee might be forced to take a decision to devalue the naira or tighten its monetary policy in the light of increasing inflation and the current situation of the Nigerian economy.
However, the committee, having taken into consideration these factors, had decided to maintain a status quo. Overnight money at the Nigerian Inter Bank Offer Rates (NIBOR) which had been stable in recent times at around 1 per cent rose sharply to 6.3333 per cent at the close of trading on Tuesday.
Longer tenured rates, the 1-, 3-, and 6-month rates, however, rose slightly at the close of business. 1-month money rose from 8.8643 per cent which it closed on Monday to 8.9472 per cent while 3-month and 6-month rates closed higher at 10.7427 and 11.9952 per cents from 10.6576 and 11.8162 per cents respectively
