Venezuela’s Day of Reckoning Delayed on $4.7 Billion Haul

At least that’s what bond investors are signaling. The nation’s notes have returned 20 percent this month, the most in emerging markets, as a rebound in oil prices and $4.7 billion of new cash bolsters the government’s coffers. Less than a month ago, the country’s benchmark securities due 2027 were trading at a 17-year low of about 35 cents on the dollar. Venezuela bought time by squeezing cash out of the oil-refining company it owns in the U.S. and arranging for an early payment on crude sales to the Dominican Republic. That helped cut the probability of default over the next year to 68 percent from 83 percent, swaps trading shows. Still, a shortage of dollars amid the six-month, 44 percent drop in prices for oil, its biggest export, means the government probably can’t push default beyond 2016, according to Goldman Sachs Group Inc. More…