Protests Sow Doubt on Venezuela’s Debt Dedication: Andes Credit

Venezuelan bonds are posting the world’s worst returns on concern deadly street protests will force the government to prioritize buying food over paying debt.

Benchmark securities due 2027 tumbled 1.61 cent today to a two-year low of 63.5 cents on the dollar as of 12:52 p.m. in New York. The country’s dollar notes lost 13 percent this year through yesterday, the most among members of the Bloomberg USD Emerging Market Sovereign Bond Index, on speculation Venezuela will sell bonds or use dollar reserves at a decade-low to end shortages and stem the world’s fastest inflation instead of making interest payments. Globally, debt from developing nations has returned 0.5 percent in 2014 after a rally this month.