Inflation in Venezuela

This item appears on page 19 of the January 2017 issue.

As of press time, Venezuela’s inflation rate, expected to reach 720 percent by the end of 2016, had caused the country’s largest bank­note, the 100-bolivar bill (VEF100), to have a value of only 5 US cents. This has caused a shortage of currency at banks and ATMs.

Venezuela has announced the creation of higher-denomination notes, set to start circulation in January 2017 and ranging in value from VEF500 to VEF20,000 (worth about 25¢ to $10, respectively).