International Trade
Cargo arrivals at Puerto Cabello:
- Over 1,454 tons of chicken and beef from
Argentina to state agency CASA.
- Over 1,214 tons of frozen chicken from Brazil to
CASA.
31 ships remain at bay awaiting dock assignment, 12 of
them bearing food. More in Spanish: (Notitarde; http://www.notitarde.com/La-Costa/Mas-de-dos-mil-toneladas-de-pollo-y-carne-llegaron-para-estatal-Casa-2234517/2014/09/15/353314)
Venezuelan fuel sold at US$ 6.36 per liter at the Colombian
border, around 100,000 BPD are being smuggled
Illicit gasoline trade near the Venezuela-Colombia
border is under no one's control. Purchase and sale of gasoline is carried out
in daylight in front of everybody. The difference between the subsidized
gasoline prices in Venezuela and the price of gasoline in Colombia encourages
resale and fuel smuggling. Border communities practically live out of gasoline
and food illegal trade. Gasoline is sold at the border at as much as VEB
400-800 (US$ 63.6-127) per every 20 liters. Those engaged in the sale of fuel
pay VEB 1.94 (US$ 0.30) per every 20 liters and earn VEB 40 (US$ 6.36) on
average per liter. PDVSA President Eulogio del Pino estimates around 100,000
BPD are being smuggled out of Venezuela. (El Universal, http://www.eluniversal.com/economia/140915/venezuelan-fuel-sold-at-usd-636-per-liter-at-the-border-with-colombia; and more in Spanish: AVN; http://www.avn.info.ve/contenido/estiman-que-cerca-100000-barriles-combustibles-diarios-están-siendo-contrabandeados;
El Mundo, http://www.elmundo.com.ve/noticias/petroleo/pdvsa/del-pino-sin-problema-en-que-se-audite-pdvsa.aspx;
Ultimas Noticias, http://www.ultimasnoticias.com.ve/noticias/actualidad/economia/del-pino-no-tiene-rollos-en-que-se-audite-pdvsa.aspx;
El Universal, http://www.eluniversal.com/economia/140915/en-la-frontera-compran-el-litro-de-gasolina-en-40-bolivares)
Oil & Energy
Venezuela’s export barrel, down to lowest level in two
years, averaged $90.19/bbl., according to
official figures published by the Ministry of Mining and Oil this Friday.
(Veneconomy, http://www.veneconomy.com/site/index.asp?ids=44&idt=41042&idc=3)
Venezuelan oil sales to the US down to 747,000 bpd in
June
Venezuelan exports of oil and byproducts to the United
States plummeted 17% in June, according to figures disclosed by the US
Department of Energy. The numbers showed Venezuelan state-run oil company PDVSA
and its partners sold 747,000 barrels per day (bpd) in June, down from 899,000
bpd a year earlier. In May, the drop in oil exports was reported at 3.2%,
totaling 772,000 bpd. (El Universal, http://www.eluniversal.com/economia/140915/venezuelan-oil-sales-to-the-us-down-to-747000-bpd-in-june)
CHEVRON weighs the purchase of one of CITGO's
refineries
The government has lowered the sale price of CITGO, a
US-based subsidiary of Venezuelan oil giant Petróleos de Venezuela (PDVSA), as
the nation is faced with repayment of significant debt obligations in the next
few months. Sources of the Venezuelan Ministry of Petroleum and Mining told
Argus Media that the government expects to receive some US$ 8-10 billion from
the sale of the three CITGO-owned refineries located in the US. CITGO's assets
have been valued at US$ 15 billion. CHEVRON is one of the international
companies that have been evaluating CITGO's assets, and might be interested in
buying the Corpus Christi refinery, with a capacity to process 165,000 bpd of
crude oil. (El
Universal, http://www.eluniversal.com/economia/140915/chevron-weighs-the-purchase-of-one-of-citgos-refineries)
Commodities
TOYOTA renews production at Cumaná plant
TOYOTA has renewed
production at its Cumaná plant in Eastern Venezuela, after negotiations were
begun with striking workers. More in Spanish: (AVN; http://www.avn.info.ve/contenido/planta-toyota-cumaná-reanudó-operaciones; El Universal, http://www.eluniversal.com/economia/140916/se-reanudaron-actividades-en-la-planta-de-toyota-en-cumana)
Irregular situations reported at the Orinoco Oil Belt by Wills Rangel, head of the Bolivarian Socialist Workers’ Federation (CBST, in
Spanish). Rangel said they had detected different irregular situations in oil
operations at the Orinoco Oil Belt, as well as in the operational system,
shifts, labor structures of drills and violations to the collective bargaining
agreement. (Veneconomy, http://www.veneconomy.com/site/index.asp?ids=44&idt=41035&idc=4)
Economy
& Finance
FEDECÁMARAS says current GDP equals that of 40 years
ago
FEDECÁMARAS Vice President
Francisco Martínez says Venezuela's current GDP has dropped down to its own
levels 40 years ago (1974), due to "lack
of productivity". FEDECÁMARAS is the nation's main private business
organization. More in Spanish: (El Universal, http://www.eluniversal.com/economia/140916/fedecamaras-senala-que-pib-es-el-mismo-de-hace-40-anos)
Imbalances in government accounts trigger inflation
In July the Central Bank of Venezuela (BCV) issued
41.9 million units of VEB 100 bills, an increase by 153% over the volume of
bills issued during the same month in 2013. This is due to the loss of
purchasing power of money in circulation, which in turn leads to a need for
higher-value bills to be issued. Imbalances eating away at purchasing power - to
the extent that the highest-denomination bill is not enough to pay for half a
kilo of cheese - arise from asymmetry in government accounts. Efraín Velásquez,
the president of the National Economic Council, explains that to cover
expenditures that are soaring above oil revenue and tax collection the
government creates more debt and seeks the aid of the Central Bank, which
responds by creating more bolivars to fund the government. (El
Universal, http://www.eluniversal.com/economia/140913/imbalances-in-government-accounts-trigger-inflation)
Venezuela bond rout
Venezuelan bonds came under pressure this week as talk
of a potential default spooked the markets, causing the sovereign's curve to
plunge several points before buying interest returned. The country's 2024s fell
about 3.5 points to 65.00-66.00 on Monday, marking a five-point drop in four
days. It was a similar story for bonds issued by state-owned oil company PDVSA,
whose 2024s touched a low of 52.50-53.00 on the same day. The rout was
triggered by an article written by two Harvard academics - a former Venezuelan
minister and an ex advisor for the opposition - questioning whether the
government should service its international bonds when it is not honoring other
commitments at home and has left citizens scrambling for basic goods. (Reuters,
http://www.reuters.com/article/2014/09/12/emergingmarkets-debt-idUSL1N0RD1D620140912)
Maduro threatens Harvard professor for default comment
President Nicolas Maduro instructed the attorney
general and public prosecutor to take “actions” against Harvard Professor
Ricardo Hausmann, saying the economist sought to destabilize the country by
suggesting the government default on its debt. Maduro lashed out at Hausmann
during a televised address last night, calling him a “financial hitman” and “outlaw”
who forms part of a campaign “that has
been initiated around the world against Venezuela .” He didn’t specify what actions he had asked the
attorney general and prosecutor to take. (Bloomberg, http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2014-09-12/venezuela-threatens-harvard-professor-for-default-comment.html)
Politics
US Presidential Determination for major drug producing
and transit countries includes Venezuela
Under the Foreign Relations Authorization Act (FRAA),
the President is required each year to notify Congress of those countries he
determines to be major illicit drug-producing countries or major drug-transit
countries that “significantly affect the
United States.” This year the President has identified twenty-two countries
as major illicit drug-producing or drug-transit countries. Of these twenty-two,
the President has determined that three countries, Bolivia, Burma, and
Venezuela, “failed demonstrably”
during the last twelve months to make sufficient or meaningful efforts to
adhere to the obligations they have undertaken under international
counternarcotics agreements. In accordance with provisions of the FRAA, the
President has determined that support for programs to aid Burma and Venezuela remains
vital to the national interests of the United States and therefore grant Burma
and Venezuela National Interest Waivers. (State Department, http://www.state.gov/r/pa/prs/ps/2014/09/231658.htm)
Capriles’s party believes anti-Chavistas can win 2015
parliamentary elections
Venezuela’s Primero Justicia (PJ) party of two-time
presidential opponent Henrique Capriles has announced that for the first time
in 15 years since the first triumph of the late president Hugo Chavez, the
opposition could win parliamentary elections scheduled for October 2015. “It will be the first time in 15 years when
we will have the opportunity to have the country’s most important institution
in service of people, and not the government,” PJ Secretary General Tomas
Guanipa said Sunday in reference to in the National Assembly (AN, parliament). The
triumph of the opposition will allow “the
changes which the country demands,” Guanipa said in statements to
journalists. The party must win not less than two-thirds of the seats in the NA
single chamber, he explained. (Latin American Herald Tribune, http://www.laht.com/article.asp?ArticleId=2352079&CategoryId=10717)
TalCual: Where is the Government taking Venezuelans?
What does the Venezuelan
government come up with when it deals with a serious issue such as that of
general shortages of goods and services? Well, nothing but closing the borders
and putting fingerprint scanners in markets, supermarkets and other food
retailers. It is impossible stop a hemorrhage with plain Band-Aids. The logical
thing to do would be to restructure the nation's debt, renegotiate it with the
support of the IMF, and extend the payment deadlines. But the Government is
never going to do that, so the fate of Venezuela is unknown. (Latin American Herald Tribune, http://www.laht.com/article.asp?ArticleId=2352045&CategoryId=10717)
Venezuelan FM: We are heading for a revolutionary
State
Rafael Ramírez, recently appointed Vice-President for
Political Affairs and Minister of Foreign Affairs, has pledged all of his
support to President Nicolás Maduro in making the necessary changes within the
so-called "shakeup" including his departure as president of state-run
oil holding PDVSA. "I am honored to
take on the task of representing our country in the world," says the
new Foreign Minister. "I see it (the
switchover in jobs) as a natural way, for the oil industry has always been tied
to our foreign policy," he added. (El Universal, http://www.eluniversal.com/nacional-y-politica/140915/venezuelan-fm-we-are-heading-for-a-revolutionary-state)
Best and brightest for export
Approximately 90% of those who have emigrated from
Venezuela in the last 15 years are highly skilled professionals. More important,
according to researcher Tomás Páez, they take away with them their expertise
and ability to create jobs and wealth. (El Universal, http://www.eluniversal.com/nacional-y-politica/140913/best-and-brightest-for-export)
Egyptian president thanks Venezuela for its solidarity
with Palestine
Egypt's president Abdel Fattah el-Sisi expressed
Sunday his gratitude to the Venezuelan people and his counterpart Nicolas
Maduro due to their humanist actions and solidarity with Palestine, through
medicine and food. (AVN, http://www.avn.info.ve/contenido/egyptian-president-thanks-venezuela-its-solidarity-palestine)
Aragua State Governor denies existence of a fast-acting
deadly virus
A Venezuelan governor denied that eight people were
killed by a deadly, fast-acting virus at a hospital in the north-central city
of Maracay and accused the head of the local medical association of
deliberately attempting to sow panic among the local population. “I must start by categorically denying the
existence of some virus or bacteria on the premises of the Maracay Central Hospital
that is putting the lives of patients at risk,” said Tarek el Aissami,
governor of the north-central state of Aragua, whose capital is Maracay. El
Aissami refuted reports by the head of Maracay’s medical association, Angel
Sarmiento, who on Thursday said an unknown fatal illness at one of the state’s
public hospitals was claiming the lives of its victims in as few as 72 hours. (Latin
American Herald Tribune, http://www.laht.com/article.asp?ArticleId=2351964&CategoryId=10717)
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