Venezuela in worst recession in over 70 years

Assessing the extent of Venezuela's economic meltdown is no easy task. After all, this is a country that has stopped releasing even the most basic economic data on a timely basis. Gross domestic product figures haven't been published since the third quarter of last year. No inflation numbers have been released since December 2014 and other key measures such as balance of payments statistics haven't been updated in well over a year. In this context, economists have been filling the void with their own DIY economic models. Last year, Nomura introduced its "Venezuela screwed-up index" and on Monday Capital Economics published its latest Venezuela GDP Tracker. It's pretty grim reading. Crushed by falling oil prices, Venezuela, which generates 96 per cent of its foreign income from crude exports, is seen by Capital Economics to be contracting 10 per cent this year. The consultancy's GDP proxy measure, compiled by combining the small amount of official data available with independent figures from local agencies on the ground, suggests that Venezuela is currently in the midst of its worst recession in over 70 years. More…