Nigeria's central bank raises benchmark lending rate to 16.50%

ABUJA (Reuters) - Nigeria's central bank raised its benchmark lending rate to 16.50% from 15.50%, its governor Godwin Emefiele said on Tuesday.

Emefiele switched in May from a loose monetary policy to support weak economic growth to a tight policy after inflation hit its highest level since 2005.

Annual inflation quickened to 21.09% in October, its ninth straight monthly rise, driven by rising prices of staples like bread, rice and maize and the cost of diesel, which is widely used to generate power.

Inflation and the state of the economy are major issues for voters as the country heads for a national election in February, when incumbent President Muhammadu Buhari will step down.

(Reporting by Chijioke Ohuocha and MacDonald Dzirutwe; Additional reporting by Bhargav Acharya; Editing by James Macharia Chege)