Soaring seven-figure Inflation, almost four in 10 people out of work, high government debt and dwindling foreign reserves has left oil-rich Venezuela as the world’s most miserable economy. U.S. sanctions on Venezuela’s oil sector are “a game changer,” according to Diego Moya-Ocampos, principal analyst with the Americas Country Risk team at IHS Markit.
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“The reason why Venezuela’s economy is in such a dire state is because of widespread corruption and epic mismanagement by government officials. Some of these assets have been laundered in different places, like the Carribean, in the U.S. and some Latin American countries” Moya-Ocampos said. In August 2018, President Nicolas Maduro launched the new “sovereign bolivar” (Bs.), slashing five zeros off Venezuela’s currency. With a monthly minimum wage of 9,000Bs. (US$10), and the price of an egg hitting 307Bs. -- up 20 per cent since August -- a worker on the minimum wage would struggle to afford a single egg a day.
