Economists say limited demand for currency swaps and other central bank policies could lower inflation in January.
They note that changes in the structure of the currency and the cashless policy pursued by leading banks may not have a long-term effect in curbing inflation in the country.
Shogun Ajibola, professor of economics at Babcock University and former president of the Royal Institute of Bankers in Nigeria, told The PUNCH that putting pressure on people could dampen their demand and curb inflation for a while, but warned that the effects could be temporary done.
Until the problem is solved, it is actually solved.
“There is what we call demand-pull inflation. There is price pressure.
Price pressure comes from producers, manufacturers and other owners of inputs who act like farmers and sell on the market. Swaps can reduce the power of buyers.
Agibola added: “People definitely have to ask for some things. This is an unintentional decrease in the volume of requests.
The pressure on consumers is so strong that it will have a significant impact on inflation.
If this happens, it will be temporary.
Because until the economy recovers from this CBN political shock, we will be back to economic reality.”
Bongo Adi, another professor of economics at the Lagos Business School, said the government had put so much pressure on Nigeria that spending cuts were implemented, resulting in lower aggregate demand in January.
“Inflation rates have come down in countries like the US, but that’s not necessarily because of monetary tightening,” he said. When demand falls, prices also start to fall.
This is not because the supply of money is limited, but because people cannot spend what they do not have.”
January. Let’s hope inflation comes down as people aren’t spending as much this month.
“If it drops this month, it’s not because of CBN’s monetary policy, but because of reduced demand.
Noting that inflation would be around 250% given the near rise in consumer goods prices, he noted that raising interest rates may not be a sufficient and viable solution to curb inflation in the country.