Venezuela’s Maduro bolsters currency amid devaluation talk

“Venezuela has sufficient dollar resources to maintain the strength of the [bolivar at] 6.3 [to the dollar] but also to use complementary systems,” the president said during his speech, pledging to battle the currency black market, where the currency trades at some 10 times the official rate. But in a move some economists see as devaluation by stealth, the foreign exchange auction system known as Sicad – in which the central bank sells dollars at 11.3 bolívars instead of the official value to some sectors – is to be broadened. More...