Venezuelan 1st-Quarter GDP May Have Fallen 35%, Universal Says
Caracas, May 20 (<a href=quote.bloomberg.com>Bloomberg) -- Venezuela's economy probably fell by about 35 percent in the first quarter, El Universal reported, citing preliminary figures compiled by the country's central bank.
The country's oil industry, which accounts for about 40 percent of gross domestic product, may have fallen by as much as 48 percent, while the country's non-oil GDP may have contracted by 25 percent.
The bank's board of directors will review the preliminary figures before they are released later this quarter.
Venezuela's first quarter GDP was affected by a national strike that started Dec. 2 and ended Feb. 1. The strike, whose goal was to force President Hugo Chavez from office, idled much of the country's oil industry and large parts of the non-oil economy.
(EU, 5/20 1-12)
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