Expert calculates whopping inflation rate of 18,000% for Venezuela
An economic expert has calculated an unofficial inflation rate of almost 18,000 percent for Venezuela, exceeding a prediction by the International Monetary Fund of almost 14,000 percent.
Steve Hanke, a professor at Johns Hopkins University, claimed that Venezuela’s inflation rate quadrupled from 4,966 percent to 17,968 percent in just March and April.
That rate already exceeds the 13,864 percent predicted by the International Monetary Fund for all of 2018.
Neither of the figures have been confirmed by the Venezuelan government.
Experts attribute the cause of the hyperinflation in Venezuela to a recent move by the country’s President Nicolas Maduro, who announced an immediate 40-percent rise in the minimum national wage.
Economists had warned that such a hike in the minimum wage would worsen the country’s already high inflation.
The decision was taken as part of measures to improve Venezuela’s troubled economy, which Maduro says is the target of a US “war.”
The president warned Venezuelans that the nation was facing “attacks” on its currency and attempts to “sabotage” the oil industry of the country, whose economy has been hit hard by a slump in global crude prices.
Last year, Venezuela plunged into political unrest amid opposition protests, which left at least 125 dead from both the government and opposition camps.
The 55-year-old Maduro slammed US President Donald Trump for launching an “economic war” against the country by imposing a series of sanctions against the Venezuelan government and in support of the opposition.
Washington and a number of its allies have sided with the opposition, which blames the government for the country’s economic problems.
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