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In Venezuela, inflation quadruples to 18,000 percent in two months, with no end in sight
Venezuela's inflation rate, already by far the world's highest, spiked from 4,966 percent to nearly 18,000 percent in just March and April — a trend that, if it continues, could push the country's annual rate to more than 100,000 percent by year's end, economists say.
The 17,968 percent rate registered at the end of April already surpassed the 13,864 percent rate predicted by the International Monetary Fund for all of 2018.
The giant surplus of bolivares circulating in Venezuela, the result of printing more and more currency to cover a monumental government budget deficit, is one of the key drivers of the country's inflation, said Alexander Guerrero, a Venezuelan economist who lives in the United States.
But for now it's clear the Maduro regime is not taking any steps to slow the rise of consumer prices.
What's more, his policies over the past five years have only worsened the economy and sparked complaints that Maduro is following in the footsteps of Zimbabwe. The African country suffered the second highest rate of inflation in history — 98.01 percent per day, meaning that prices doubled every 24.7 hours.
The 17,968 percent rate registered at the end of April already surpassed the 13,864 percent rate predicted by the International Monetary Fund for all of 2018.
The giant surplus of bolivares circulating in Venezuela, the result of printing more and more currency to cover a monumental government budget deficit, is one of the key drivers of the country's inflation, said Alexander Guerrero, a Venezuelan economist who lives in the United States.
But for now it's clear the Maduro regime is not taking any steps to slow the rise of consumer prices.
What's more, his policies over the past five years have only worsened the economy and sparked complaints that Maduro is following in the footsteps of Zimbabwe. The African country suffered the second highest rate of inflation in history — 98.01 percent per day, meaning that prices doubled every 24.7 hours.
Read more here: http://www.miamiherald.com/news/nation-world/world/americas/venezuela
/article210282264.html#storylink=cpy
Sky rocketing inflation and murder rates. A country dying before us.
