Dollar drought worsens amid uncertain forex policy in Venezuela

The slow implementation of the new forex system is stoking the US dollar drought in the Venezuelan private sector. Simultaneously, waning inventories threaten to worsen shortage of goods in the country. The new register listing the companies authorized to buy US dollars from the National Foreign Trade Corporation has not been opened yet. Neither the amount of the US dollar budget nor its general guidelines for defining the exchange policy for each sector have been publicly announced. Further, it is unknown what companies will be allowed to buy US dollars via the Ancillary Foreign Currency Administration System (Sicad), the Foreign Exchange Administration Commission (Cadivi), or the institution that could eventually replace the latter. In this scenario, there is widespread uncertainty about the forex rate in the months ahead. More...