Venezuela Opens Foreign Exchange Market as Protests Continue

Venezuela’s government said it will relax exchange controls imposed over the past decade as it attempts to ease shortages of basic goods and damp deadly protests over the rising cost of living. Bonds rallied.

The state won’t impose restrictions on trading in the so-called Sicad 2 market when it starts on March 10, Economy Vice President Rafael Ramirez said. The government will offer “significant” foreign currency to the new market while it continues to ensure an exchange rate of 6.3 bolivars per dollar for essential imports such as medicines, he said. Francisco Rodriguez, a Latin American economist at Bank of America, said the move amounts to a devaluation.