Page 2 - AUA BANK MAY 25

WORLD NEWS A11
Saturday 23 May 2015

Currency tumbles as Venezuelans look to offload bolivars

Bank workers handle Venezuela’s currency, the “Bolivar Today sent out a series of clay Capital Inc. report is- to widespread corruption
alerts announcing the new sued Friday described the and speculation.
Fuerte,” or Strong Bolivar, at the Central Bank in Caracas, numbers under the head- underlying cause as gov- The strongest rate is 6.3 bo-
line “hyperinflation!” ernment expansion of the livars per dollar. The weak-
Venezuela. Venezuelans are expressing disbelief as the Venezuelan currency was money supply. est official rate, which was
trading at 415 bolivars per “We do not see any signal billed as an alternative to
country’s currency has lost a quarter of its value on the black dollar Friday, according of change from the authori- the black market when it
to the site. That’s down ties but these risks should was rolled out earlier their
market in the space of a week in 2015, between May 14 and from 300 bolivars per dollar make them reconsider their year, has inched up to 200
on May 14. It stood at 173 policies,” it said. bolivars per dollar. The fact
22. (AP Photo/Fernando Llano) when the year started. Barclays projected the Boli- many are willing to pay
While many black market var could dip as low as 600 double that price for black-
HANNAH DREIER lombian border, reported dealers paused transac- to the dollar this year. market dollars indicates the
Associated Press that the South American tions until the rate stabilizes, The administration of Presi- supply is limited.
CARACAS, Venezuela (AP) country’s currency lost a some Venezuelans said dent Nicolas Maduro keeps The Maduro administration
— A staggering plunge in quarter of its value over the they had changed money tight control over the legal has been hoarding dollars
the free market value of last eight days. at the 400 bolivar rate Fri- exchange of bolivars, using as it grapples with falling oil
Venezuelan currency sent The site’s app has become day. It was not immediately a byzantine three-tier sys- prices. That has contribut-
people scrambling to sell so ubiquitous that every- clear what prompted the tem. It is meant to subsidize ed to shortages and other
off their depreciating boli- one in smartphone-ob- sudden drop, though a Bar- crucial imports, but has led economic distortions.q
vars Friday. sessed Caracas seemed
The widely followed website to find out about the crash
DolarToday, which tracks through 400 to the dollar at
exchanges along the Co- the same instant, as Dolar-

Colombia rebels cancel unilateral
cease-fire after army raids camp

JOSHUA GOODMAN The Thursday attack on the
Associated Press guerrilla camp in Cauca
BOGOTA, Colombia (AP) province, which President
— Colombia’s largest rebel Juan Manuel Santos called
group on Friday called off a major blow against the
a unilateral cease-fire in FARC, appears to have
reaction to a military raid been in retaliation for the
on a guerrilla camp that rebels’ own stealth raid
killed 26 of its fighters, fur- last month, also in Cauca,
ther straining negotiations on an army patrol. Ten sol-
to end the country’s half- diers were killed in that at-
century-old conflict. tack, which led Santos to
The Revolutionary Armed scrap his own confidence-
Forces of Colombia said building gesture: a ban on
in a statement Friday that launching air raids against
it hadn’t wanted to lift guerrilla camps.
the five-month-old truce Santos on Friday said that
aimed at facilitating the the army seized an impor-
peace talks, but that the tant stockpile of weapons
constant pursuit of its fight- during the latest raid, in-
ers by the military made it cluding 37 assault rifles and
necessary. a M60 machine gun.q