Jan. 5 (Bloomberg) -- Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez said he’ll take steps to save dollars as a tumble in oil curbs the South American country’s export revenue.

The government reduced the allowance given to each citizen to buy dollars for travel abroad at the officially pegged exchange rate on Dec. 31, in part because people would illegally stage fake vacations to obtain foreign currency, Chavez said in comments broadcast by state television.

“I’m obligated to protect the people’s dollars,” the president said.

The government cut the amount available for travel at the official exchange rate in half to $2,500 a year, forcing more people into the free-floating parallel market, where the bolivar trades at 5.7 per dollar, 62 percent weaker than the official 2.15 per dollar official rate.

The government boosted dollar sales last year as oil, which accounts for more than 90 percent of Venezuela’s exports, soared to a record high in July. The Foreign Exchange Administration Commission said today that it sold $48 billion at the official exchange rate in 2008, up 11 percent from a year earlier.

On average, the commission approved $190 million in currency sales a day at the official exchange rate, according to an e- mailed statement. Under foreign exchange controls Chavez imposed in 2003, Venezuelans can only obtain dollars at the official rate after receiving government authorization.

To contact the reporter on this story: Matthew Walter in Caracas at mwalter4@bloomberg.net

Last Updated: January 5, 2009 15:24 EST