Finance Minister to set single exchange rate

www.vheadline.com Posted: Wednesday, February 05, 2003 - 2:35:30 AM By: Robert Rudnicki

Finance (Hacienda) Minister Tobias Nobrega is set to announce a new exchange rate control system tomorrow, and most expect it to be in the form of a single exchange rate, which will be adjusted on a monthly basis followed by a dual rate, later on, with priority granted to food, fuel, medical supplies and government transactions.

The initial rate is expected to be in the Bs.1,600.00 to Bs.1,750.00 to the US dollar range . This compares to the Bs.1,853.00 rate it closed on before being suspended on January 22.

The move will hopefully give the Finance Ministry and the Central Bank of Venezuela (BCV) the breathing room they need to defend international reserves, which were believed to be slipping at around $60 million per day as the bolivar was being kept artificially high to prevent it falling further.