CARACAS: Venezuela's consumer prices rose 1.3 million percent in the year through April, the opposition-controlled National Assembly said on Thursday, down slightly from 1.6 million percent in March as the country's economy continued its downward spiral.
Consumer prices rose 44.7 percent in April, according to the report, down from monthly levels above 100 percent late last year but more than double the 18.1 percent level in March, when a wave of nationwide blackouts brought the economy to a standstill.
"We are still in hyperinflation, and purchasing power is in freefall," opposition lawmaker Angel Alvarado wrote on Twitter.
The central bank did not immediately reply to a request for comment.
The monetary authority loosened the country's longstanding system of currency controls this week, though industry experts warned it did not eliminate the 16-year-old exchange control system, which they said was a hindrance to possible recovery from the economic meltdown.
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 claimed Venezuela is 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.
Comments
Comments are closed for this article.