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Venezuela Devaluing Currency to Revive Economy

   VOA News 30 December 2010
   A  soldier  walks  through  the  Exito hypermarket branch in Valencia,
   Venezuela,  as  government  officials  take  over  management  of  the
   French-owned store, accusing it of price speculation following the cou

Photo: AP

   A  soldier  walks  through  the  Exito hypermarket branch in Valencia,
   Venezuela,  as  government  officials  take  over  management  of  the
   French-owned  store,  accusing  it  of price speculation following the
   country's currency devaluation, Jan 19, 2010 (file photo)

   Venezuela  is  devaluing  its  currency  again  and  setting  a single
   exchange  rate for the U.S. dollar in an effort to revive the sluggish
   economy.
   Finance  Minister  Jorge Giordani said Thursday that Caracas will have
   the  single  exchange  rate  starting  Jan  1,  2011, fixing it at 4.3
   bolivars per dollar.
   Venezuela  has been using a higher rate of 2.6 bolivars per dollar for
   selected imports, including food and medicine.
   Giordani said the move should help the country's economy grow in 2011.
   This  past  January,  President Hugo Chavez announced a devaluation of
   the  bolivar,  the  first  since  2005.  He  also  introduced the dual
   exchange  rate  at  that time in an attempt to propel non-oil exports.
   The country's economy, however, has continued to falter.
   New  data  from  the  country's central bank shows Venezuela failed to
   pull out of recession in 2010, with the economy shrinking 1.9 percent,
   led  by  a  2.2 percent decline in the oil sector. Venezuela's economy
   shrank 3.3 percent in 2009.