Venezuela Currency Controls Tightened as Economic Clouds Gather

The government has tightened up hard currency controls amid a flock of signals that Venezuela’s oil-dependent economy is running into hard times in the wake of the global financial crisis and its subsequent impact on world oil prices and demand.

The Foreign Exchange Administration Commission (Cadivi) did not announce any of this. But industry figures are taken to suggest that Cadivi clamped down on access to hard currency during the first two months of this year. Permits during that period totalled $3.394 billion, down from $5 billion in the same period of 2008.

LAHT