CARACAS: Venezuela's consumer prices rose 1.7 million percent in the year ending in December, the opposition-controlled National Assembly said on Wednesday, up from 1.3 million percent in November as the country's economy continued its downward spiral.
Prices rose 142 percent in December, equivalent to around 3 percent per day, according to the report released by legislator Angel Alvarado. The National Assembly has become the only reliable source for consumer price data since the government stopped publishing economic indicators years ago as falling oil prices sent activity tumbling.
"Hyperinflation is far from over," said Alvarado.
The central bank did not immediately reply to a request for comment.
The International Monetary Fund has forecast inflation will hit 10 million percent in 2019, due to a dysfunctional economic system, indiscriminate printing of money and declining oil output in the crisis-stricken OPEC nation.
President Nicolas Maduro has repeatedly called Venezuela the victim of an "economic war" led by political adversaries backed by Washington, which has levied several rounds of sanctions against Venezuela's government and top-ranking officials.
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