Economics
Venezuela Hikes Gas Price, Devalues Bolivar as Economy Tanks
- Gas price increases in 1989, 1996 triggered popular unrest
- Primary exchange rate for essential imports devalued 37%
Customers refuel their vehicles at a Petroleos de Venzuela SA (PDVSA) gas station in Caracas, Venezuela on Feb. 11, 2016.
Photographer: Wilfredo Riera/BloombergThis article is for subscribers only.
Venezuela hiked gasoline prices for the first time in almost two decades and devalued its currency as President Nicolas Maduro attempts to address triple-digit inflation and the economy’s deepest recession in over a decade.
The primary exchange rate used for essential imports, such as food and medicine, will weaken to 10 bolivars per dollar from 6.3, Maduro said in a televised address to the nation. The government will also eliminate an intermediate rate that last sold dollars for about 13 bolivars and improve an alternative “free-floating, complementary” market that trades around 203 bolivars per dollar.