The Failure of the Central Bank of Venezuela
The Central Bank of Venezuela fails to publish its economic data for 2023 slowly in the middle of the current world economic crisis. This assertion is bolstered by the fact that the aforementioned Central Bank has not yet made the last four months’ worth of inflation data public.
Owing to this failure, several Venezuelan economists have said that the country is beginning to enter a new period of hyperinflation because of the delay in issuing the report. The delay gives the impression that the administration is attempting to conceal it by withholding the data.
The Missing Economic Data
As was already mentioned, the Central Bank of Venezuela neglected to release the economic information for the preceding four months. Several economists are concerned about the reason for the delay as a result of this failure. The organization still hasn’t released the inflation data for November 2022, December 2022, January 2023, or February 2023, despite the mounting anxiety.
The institution’s failure has also left some consulting firms blind and unable to advise their linked enterprises on economic strategy, in addition to the growing mistrust of economists. In the midst of it all, Venezuelan economist Jesus Casique contended that the missing data goes much deeper than the inflation statistics.
The analyst revealed that in addition to withholding four months’ worth of economic data, the Venezuelan Central Bank also withholds statistics on the balance of payments, GDP, and gold reserves.
Casique justified this purported opacity by speculating that the failure of the central bank to release economic data may be a sign that the nation is reentering hyperinflation. It is important to note that according to reports, Venezuela’s inflation rate for 2022 was the highest in all of Latin America at 234%.
Déjà Vu?
This current episode of failing to do its obligations is not the first time. It can be remembered that the central bank took a three-year break from operations from 2016 to 2019. The absence of any GDP or CPI data was the cause of the break. When the back was on break, the nation experienced hyperinflation; according to later official data, the rate of inflation in 2018 alone was 130,060%.
According to the local economist Naudy Pereira, both businesses and individuals need to be aware of these numbers. She clarified that based on these numbers, a potential investor would be able to determine whether or not to continue making investments. Additionally, because it affects how their families budget, customers are curious about the rate of inflation and price variance.
