Venezuela annual inflation exceeds 6,000 percent in Feb – National Assembly

CARACAS (Reuters) – Prices in Venezuela rose 6,147 percent in the 12 months to the end of February, according to estimates by the country’s opposition-led National Assembly released on Monday, broadly in line with independent economists’ figures.

Inflation during the month of February alone was 80 percent, opposition lawmakers said, amid an economic crisis in which millions of Venezuelans are unable to find or afford basic food and medicine.

“If this exponential velocity of price growth continues, prepare for an inflation of 131,985 percent in 2018,” tweeted opposition lawmaker and economist Angel Alvarado. “Made in Socialism!”

Critics blame strict currency controls, enacted 15 years ago by the late president, Hugo Chavez, as well as excessive money printing. The bolivar currency is down some 98 percent against the dollar in the last year alone, meaning Venezuela’s minimum wage is equivalent to just a handful of U.S. dollars a month.

Nicolas Maduro’s administration blames the problems on an alleged economic war waged by the opposition and business leaders, with a helping hand from Washington. Authorities have not published inflation data for more than two years.

According to the National Assembly’s calculations, oil-rich Venezuela at the end of last year entered hyperinflation, for which the benchmark is usually a 50 percent monthly inflation figure.

Disclaimer: Fusion Media would like to remind you that the data contained in this website is not necessarily real-time nor accurate. All CFDs (stocks, indexes, futures) and Forex prices are not provided by exchanges but rather by market makers, and so prices may not be accurate and may differ from the actual market price, meaning prices are indicative and not appropriate for trading purposes. Therefore Fusion Media doesn`t bear any responsibility for any trading losses you might incur as a result of using this data.

Fusion Media or anyone involved with Fusion Media will not accept any liability for loss or damage as a result of reliance on the information including data, quotes, charts and buy/sell signals contained within this website. Please be fully informed regarding the risks and costs associated with trading the financial markets, it is one of the riskiest investment forms possible.