Latin America Inflation: Venezuela Hits 18-Year Record

The IMF predicts 133 percent inflation in Venezuela in 2016.

BY LATINVEX STAFF

Venezuela is expected to see an inflation rate of 50.7 percent this year, the International Monetary Fund estimates. That will be an 18-year high, according to a Latinvex analysis of IMF data. Meanwhile, Colombia will likely post a 50-year low.

However, the IMF predicts it will get even worse in Venezuela. Two years from now, the country should see a whopping 133.4 percent inflation, the fund says. That would mark an all-time high in the South American country, beating the previous record from 1996 of 99.9 percent.

This year’s estimated inflation in Venezuela will be the world’s highest for the second year in a row.  Iran, which will likely see the second-highest inflation, will see consumer prices grow by less than half of that, or 23 percent, the IMF estimates.

The IMF does not provide estimates for Argentina, which it has rebuked for providing unreliable data on inflation and GDP growth. According to one estimate quoted by Spanish newspaper El Pais indications are that inflation will surpass 32 percent this year.