International
Trade
Cargo that has arrived at Puerto Cabello:
- 9,500 head of cattle weighing 4,600 tons arrived
from Brazil for Frigorífico Industrial Turmero, Carnes El Pazo, Matadero
Centro Occidental and others.
- Over 1,074 tons of whole milk from Argentina for
state agency CASA.
- Over 521 tons of pasta and flour, plus 339 tons
of soya oil, also for CASA.
Logistics & Transport
Authorities temporarily suspend fare sales on over 50%
of domestic flights
The Venezuelan National Civil Aeronautic Institute
(INAC) has temporally suspended air ticket sale operations by several private
and state-run domestic airlines. The airlines hit by the measure are CONVIASA,
AEROPOSTAL, AEROTUY, and ASERCA Airlines, which cover over 50% of domestic
flights. It was unofficially reported that the freeze would be for 5 days and
meetings were being held by INAC and airline representatives were being held to
try to reach an agreement. (El
Universal, http://www.eluniversal.com/economia/141103/sale-of-air-tickets-suspended-for-four-venezuelan-airlines;
and more in Spanish: El Nacional; http://www.el-nacional.com/)
Travel agencies report irregularities in sale of air
tickets
The Venezuelan Travel and Tourism Agencies Association
(AVAVIT) has reported "irregularities
in the purchase and sale of international air tickets" in the local
market, which hit passengers directly, and recommends that travelers "buy their air tickets and travel services through
retailers authorized by the Minister of Tourism)" in order to avoid
irregularities. (El
Universal, http://www.eluniversal.com/economia/141103/travel-agencies-report-irregularities-in-sale-of-air-tickets)
Oil &
Energy
Venezuela oil price slips to new 4 year low
Venezuela's Ministry of
Energy and Petroleum reports that the average price of Venezuelan crude sold by
Petroleos de Venezuela S.A. (PDVSA) during the week ending October 31 fell to
its lowest price since 2010. The average
price during the week ending October 31 was US$75.79, down US$0.11 from the
previous week's US$75.90. (Latin American Herald Tribune, http://www.laht.com/article.asp?ArticleId=2358947&CategoryId=10717)
Lower oil prices carry geopolitical consequences
Since mid-June, the price of Brent crude oil has
fallen by nearly 25% -- going from a high of US$115 to about US$87 a barrel --
and structural factors are causing concern among global oil producers that oil
prices will remain near current levels through at least the end of 2015. This
concern has caused several investment banks to slash their oil price outlooks
for the immediate future. STRATFOR believes that oil supplies will stay high as
energy production in North America increases and OPEC countries remain hesitant
or unable to cut production significantly. Moreover, in the short term, the
Chinese economic slowdown and stagnant European economy will limit the
potential for growth in oil demand. These factors could make it harder for
global oil prices to rebound to their previous levels. There is every reason to
believe that oil prices will stay lower than US$100 per barrel for much of
2015, unless Saudi Arabia and OPEC change their minds about production cuts. All
eyes watching oil markets will turn to OPEC's semiannual meeting Nov. 27 to
look for any shifts. If there are none, the lower price of oil will continue to
have significant geopolitical consequences for consumer and producer countries
alike. (Stratfor, http://www.stratfor.com/analysis/lower-oil-prices-carry-geopolitical-consequences#axzz3I3KISQEw)
Saudi oil minister to make rare trips to Venezuela,
Mexico
Saudi Oil Minister Ali al-Naimi is making his first
visits in years to fellow exporters Venezuela and Mexico, although tumbling oil
prices are not the stated purpose of the trip, according to officials and
sources. Naimi will attend a long-planned climate change meeting on Venezuela's
Margarita Island that runs Tuesday to Friday, according to a Caracas-based
source close to the Saudi delegation. (Reuters, http://www.reuters.com/article/2014/11/03/oil-saudi-venezuela-idUSL1N0ST12C20141103; El
Universal, http://www.eluniversal.com/economia/141103/saudi-arabian-oil-minister-to-visit-venezuela)
Gasoline quota in Táchira state has been lowered to 10
liters for the remaining of this week due
to delays in fuel dispatches. The measure was authorized by PDVSA, and the
quota allocated to all drivers will depend on their vehicle’s capacity may be
reestablished on Monday. (Veneconomy, http://www.veneconomy.com/site/index.asp?ids=44&idt=41689&idc=4)
Commodities
Venezuela steps up battle to keep shelves stocked and
prices low ahead of Christmas
Venezuela is
stepping up efforts to combat shortages and rising prices so families can have
a merry Christmas complete with 12-cent sacks of sugar and 50-cent chickens. President
Nicolas Maduro has announced he is deploying hundreds of inspectors to enforce
the government's price regulations, which set the cost of everything from milk
to toothbrushes artificially low. "Today
we deploy, and in November and December you will see that we have guaranteed a
happy Christmas for the people," he said during televised remarks. (Fox News, http://www.foxnews.com/world/2014/11/01/venezuela-steps-up-battle-to-keep-shelves-stocked-and-prices-low-ahead/)
Economy
& Finance
International reserves are now down to US$ 19.758
billion
Venezuela's international reserves dropped to US$
19.758 billion by October 30th, which is under the low point registered in
November 2003, the year when the oil industry paralyzed its activities. More in
Spanish: (El Mundo, http://www.elmundo.com.ve/noticias/economia/banca/reservas-internacionales-se-ubican-en--19-758-mill.aspx#ixzz3I0A0bQEv)
Analysts say the government shows no urgency over
economic imbalances
A recent report by BARCLAY's
says that although the drop in oil prices intensifies the need for economic
adjustment, authorities are displaying no urgency over the matter and seem
caught between adjustment and inaction. This means it is not likely the
economic situation will improve before parliamentary elections next year, which
could further erode support for the regime. More in Spanish: (El Universal, http://www.eluniversal.com/economia/141104/no-ven-urgencia-en-el-pais-por-afrontar-desequilibrios)
Maduro announced 15% general pay raise effective
December 1
President Nicolás Maduro has announced a 15% raise in
the minimum wage, close to VEB 4,890, effective December 1st this year. This
will add on to a 10% raise enacted in January and a 30% raise applied in May
this year. Maduro says the cumulative raise in full salary comes to 68.28% in
all of 2014. He also appointed a negotiating committee to establish a framework
contract for collective bargaining within the public sector. He also announced
the establishment of an "Economic
Intelligence Commission", made up by the tax authority (SENIAT), the
fair prices superintendent's office (SUNDDE), the national foreign trade
authority (CENCOEX) and the National Intelligence Service (SEBIN), in order to
"combat criminal mafias".
More in Spanish: (El Universal, http://www.eluniversal.com/economia/141103/presidente-anuncia-incremento-salarial-de-15-a-partir-del-1-de-diciemb)
Venezuela's "reserve
fund will have US$ 4 billion by December 2014", according to General Rodolfo Marco Torres, Vice-President for Economic Affairs
and Finance Minister, who claims "The
Bolivarian revolution has a financial infrastructure that enables us to
confront and take action as appropriate in the face of falling oil prices.
Hence, we prepared a budget for next year with the oil barrel at US$ 60. We are
positive that next year will yield substantial results, as we will support the
honest productive sector." (El Universal, http://www.eluniversal.com/nacional-y-politica/141101/the-reserve-fund-will-have-usd-4-billion-at-december-2014)
Politics and
International Affairs
Venezuela is spending millions on electronic spying on
its own citizens
Government intelligence services - assisted by their
Cuban counterparts - have substantially increased their technical ability to
spy on the general population, and are currently using cutting edge technology
to read mails and hear telephone conversations of anyone that opposes the
regime. The Venezuelan government has spent millions of dollars acquiring
Russian, Italian and Cuban spying technology, specially telephone calls,
Internet use and emails that go through the state telecommunications company
CANTV, which can be monitored at will and do not require user passwords. These
technologies and Cuban training played a key role in containing protests during
the first semester this year, by easily monitoring student activities.
Intelligence sources say the government can only monitor communications of
pre-selected targets, "it is not
able to monitor all communications of all Venezuelans", they say.
Intelligence services have been compiling an extensive data base for years, in
order to identify targets. One of the Cuban programs, called "Estela", closely monitors
interactions between the users of social media, such as Facebook, Twitter and
Instagram. More in Spanish: (El Nuevo Herald, http://www.elnuevoherald.com/noticias/mundo/america-latina/venezuela-es/article3518106.html#storylink=cpy)
UN Commission to learn about torture cases in
Venezuela
Reports to be examined by the United Nations (UN) Commission
against Torture include cases from 2002 to 2011, but an update on serious
attacks against personal integrity during the first half of 2014, during the
wave of anti-government protests, will also be included. The Commission will
meet this week with Penitentiary Services Minister Iris Varela, as well as
representatives of non government organizations. (El Universal, http://www.eluniversal.com/nacional-y-politica/141103/un-commission-to-learn-about-torture-cases-in-venezuela;
and more in Spanish: http://www.eluniversal.com/nacional-y-politica/141104/comision-de-la-onu-recibira-delegaciones-venezolanas-este-jueves-6)
Venezuela reaffirms solidarity with Palestine
The Venezuelan Government has reaffirmed its solidarity
with the Palestinian cause by sending a third shipment of 10.3 tons of supplies
for humanitarian aid to the Palestinian people, sent to the Palestinian Red
Crescent Society. (AVN, http://www.avn.info.ve/contenido/venezuela-reaffirms-solidarity-palestine)
Jaua issues communiqué about gun incident in Brazil
Elías Jaua, Minister for Communes and Social Movements,
has issued a communiqué to clarify an incident involving one of his domestic
employees who was detained on October 24 for carrying a gun in her luggage upon
her landing in the Sao Paulo international airport, Brazil. Jaua claims his
presence in Brazil was for a four-day work visit, and that as a "part of my work team, my wife joined me. She
is part of my support staff at the Ministry, and as such, she took part in the
work visit". He says his wife had to be hospitalized and the domestic
was brought in to help. (El Universal, http://www.eluniversal.com/nacional-y-politica/141103/minister-jaua-issues-communique-about-gun-incident)
The following brief is a synthesis of the news
as reported by a variety of media sources. As such, the views and opinions
expressed do not necessarily reflect those of Duarte Vivas & Asociados and
The Selinger Group.
