The dollar exchange is reluctant to lower
Articles - Economics
Wednesday February 24, 2010
Special Caracas

The parallel exchange rate in Venezuela rose yesterday in a market with high demand and expectation of measures to lower their value, as President Hugo Chávez said when the local currency devaluation earlier this year. The leftist leader said the Central Bank and the Government would intervene with force in the unofficial market for the dollar down "parallel" and bring it as close as possible to the value of the new "oil dollars" official, which has a rate of 4.3 VEB and is used for non-essential imports.

However, the promise has been fulfilled and so far this year the dollar has remained above 6 bolivar in the unregulated market, attended by companies and individuals to obtain foreign currency when the government assigns no. Controlling the parallel dollar is vital to Chavez, since it is one of the factors that is fueling inflation and eroding the purchasing power of Venezuelans.

Controlling the parallel dollar is vital to Chavez, since it is one of the factors that is fueling inflation and eroding the purchasing power of Venezuelans, months before an election where the socialist president played the domain of the National Assembly.

The parallel dollar has traded in recent days, well above the official target, supported by the timid Central Bank intervention through the auction of some bonds and foreign exchange allocation controlled slow.

The issuer has placed this year almost 260 million dollars in "exchange bonds, denominated in dollars, to cover part of the huge repressed demand for foreign exchange and derivative exchange controls introduced in 2003.

"The plan is to continue taking the bonds but when deemed necessary, not when the stock market tell," said a government source, who dismissed media reports about a looming "megaemisión" bond exchange.

The implied rate on those bonds has been 4.8 and 5.0 bolivar / dollar below the black market. Although his first placement in January, the market reacted with a falling dollar unofficial, the rebound was swift.