International
Trade
Cargo that has arrived at Puerto Cabello:
- Over 1,602 tons of whole powdered milk, beef and
soy oil in 59 vans from Nicaragua
for state agency CASA
- Over 1,022 tons of whole powdered milk in 40
containers, from Argentina
- Over 936 tons of coffee in 42 containers from
Honduras for state agency Cafe Venezuela
- Over 313 tons of corn seed in 10 containers for state
agency CORPOVEX
Logistics & Transport
Food industry warns control system faults prevent
normal food distribution
CAVIDEA issued a press release in which it insists
that the persistent faults of the Comprehensive Agro-food Control System
(SICA), are preventing normal transport and dispatch operations of both raw
material and finished products. Companies accumulate up to five days of
inventories in their plants and distribution centers due to the system’s
faults. (VENECONOMY, http://www.veneconomy.com/site/index.asp?ids=44&idt=44604&idc=3)
INSEL Air will open a new route Curacao-Puerto
Ordaz next July 15.
There will be two weekly flights: Wednesdays and Sundays, with return trips on
Tuesdays and Saturdays. (VENECONOMY, http://www.veneconomy.com/site/index.asp?ids=44&idt=44603&idc=3)
Oil &
Energy
Gasoline is sold at international prices at gas
stations in Táchira state,
near the border with Colombia, since last Monday, July 6. Prices range from
Bs.50 to Bs.83 per liter, so customers have complained filling tanks with the
30 liters allowed cost over Bs.1,500. Official sources have provided no
information. (Veneconomy, http://www.veneconomy.com/site/index.asp?ids=44&idt=44607&idc=4)
President of Pdvsa
says Orinoco Oil Belt is developing
Eulogio del Pino, President of state-run oil
company Petróleos de Venezuela (PDVSA) says development of the Orinoco Oil Belt
(FPO) "Hugo Chávez Frías"
is in full swing. He highlighted efforts undertaken by the government to foster
production plans in the Orinoco Oil Belt, located in the southern area of
Guárico, Anzoátegui, and Monagas states, where an average of 1.34 million
barrels per day of crude are drilled. (El Universal, http://www.eluniversal.com/economia/150709/president-of-pdvsa-orinoco-oil-belt-is-developing)
PDVSA says it will create 19 joint ventures for
the development of the Orinoco Oil Belt.
Fourteen of these companies will manufacture
critical material needed in the Belt such as pipes, elbow joints, drill bits
and oil re-bars. The remaining five companies will service fields; among other
tasks, directional drilling, sand control, etc. (VENECONOMY, http://www.veneconomy.com/site/index.asp?ids=44&idt=44593&idc=4;
El Universal, http://www.eluniversal.com/economia/150709/nineteen-companies-to-invest-usd-2-billion-in-the-orinoco-oil-belt)
Commodities
Agricultural guilds seek
US$ 250 billion in FOREX
Erick Hartkopf, President of the Venezuelan
Chamber of Vendors of Spare Parts, Heavy Equipment and Agricultural Equipment (CAVEDREPA)
is asking Agriculture Vice-Minister, Rear Admiral José Gregorio Aguilera, for
an estimated US$ 250 billion in FOREX required by 50 importers and vendors of
spare parts, heavy equipment and agricultural equipment. He made a request to
take into account small and medium-sized enterprises affiliated to CAVEDREPA
and the Federation of Cattle Raisers and Farmers of Venezuela (FEGAVEN), which
are closer to growers but lack the "muscle"
to take part in auctions. (El Universal, http://www.eluniversal.com/economia/150709/agricultural-guilds-insist-on-the-need-of-resources)
Economy
& Finance
Venezuela pulls US$ 1.5 billion more from its
IMF reserves
Venezuela withdrew close to US$ 1.5 billion
from an IMF holding account in June, according to the fund's website, improving
the liquidity of the nation's currency reserves, which have steadily declined
since last year's oil market rout. Venezuela holds reserves with the
International Monetary Fund in an instrument known as Special Drawing Rights
(SDR), a basket of international currencies made up of the euro, Japanese yen,
pound sterling, and U.S. dollar. The operation last month converted SDR
reserves into more liquid holdings that could be used to import products or
make debt service payments. It did not change the total amount of reserves that
Venezuela holds, which this week slipped below US$ 16 billion for the first
time since 2003. This comes on top of the US$385 that Venezuela quietly
borrowed from the IMF in April. That
means that Venezuela has now borrowed US$2.3 billion from the IMF. In 2009 as countries around the world were
reeling from the worldwide economic crisis, the IMF decided to provide member
nations a total of US$250 billion in SDRs to shore up international
liquidity. At that time, the IMF made
about US$ 3.578 billion in SDR's available to Venezuela, which it is now
borrowing at an extremely favorable rate of interest (currently 0.05%, which is
better than the over 30% that Venezuela is paying on some of its bonds). Even so, on Sunday President Nicolas Maduro
took to the airwaves lauding the Greek referendum results, saying "Today Greece has told the financial
terrorists of the International Monetary Fund, the European Central Bank and
the European elite that they don't kneel down to anyone.... the people of
Greece that have said NO to the International Monetary Fund and the vampires of
the international banking system." As of June, its balance of SDRs
stood at an equivalent to US$ 1.28 billion at last month's average exchange
rate of 1.4 SDRs per dollar. Most of Venezuela's foreign reserves are held in
gold. (Reuters, http://www.reuters.com/article/2015/07/09/venezuela-imf-reserves-idUSL1N0ZP0WH20150709;
Latinvest, https://www.scribd.com/doc/271004472/Latinvest-Venezuela-Report-9-July-2015; Veneconomy, http://www.veneconomy.com/site/index.asp?ids=44&idt=44605&idc=2;
El Universal, http://www.eluniversal.com/economia/150709/venezuela-withdraws-usd-15-billion-from-the-imf-to-improve-liquidity);
and more in Spanish: Infolatam, http://www.infolatam.com/2015/07/09/venezuela-retira-us1-500-millones-del-fmi-para-mejorar-liquidez/)
Maduro says "oil prices dropped US$ 4 in two days but Venezuela will not stop"
President Nicolás Maduro has said "oil prices dropped US$ 4 in two days but
Venezuela will not stop...let us learn how to walk on our own feet...enough
depending on the dollar...it's over...whatever it takes...we must show that
productive socialist work is superior to any other form of work"- More
in Spanish: (El Universal, http://www.eluniversal.com/economia/150709/maduro-el-petroleo-bajo-4-en-dos-dias-pero-venezuela-no-se-para)
Venezuela bid to review US$ 46 million
Tidewater award rejected
Venezuela's request to review a US$ 46 million
compensation claim it has been ordered to pay to oil service company Tidewater
was rejected and the stay on the award's execution lifted, a World Bank
tribunal said in a decision posted on its website. The country had sought a
revision "based on what it describes
as an error in the tribunal's damages calculation," an International
Center for Settlement of Investment Disputes' (ICSID) tribunal said in its
decision. In its rejection, the tribunal said the award had "taken into account the totality of the evidence
presented to it in determining the appropriate level of compensation to be
awarded, based upon a discounted cash flow analysis." (Reuters, http://www.reuters.com/article/2015/07/08/venezuela-tidewater-idUSL1N0ZO2Q420150708)
Venezuela inflation seen hitting triple-digit
levels as crisis deepens
Venezuela's inflation has reached its highest
level since the country started measuring the indicator over 60 years ago,
according to calculations by private economists who are seeking to make up for
a lack of official figures on prices for this year. Inflation is evident in the
streets, however, as consumers struggle with wads of near-worthless bills, the
largest of which can no longer even buy a chocolate bar. Prices rose 108% in
the 12 months ending in May, according to the average of estimates by nine
analysts consulted by Reuters, topping the 103 percent rate of 1996 that
followed an economic shock package. (Reuters, http://www.reuters.com/article/2015/07/08/venezuela-inflation-idUSL1N0ZO1NF20150708)
Venezuela’s largest
bill buys 16 U.S. Cents after 30% plunge
Venezuela’s largest bank note of
100 bolivars is now worth about 16 U.S. cents on the black market, following a 33% plunge
in the past month. The currency weakened to 616 per dollar Thursday, meaning
the greenback fetches 100 times more bolivars in the black market than it does
at the primary official rate, according to data compiled by foreign-exchange
website dolartoday.com. Venezuela has maintained strict currency controls since
2003, pushing people and businesses to illegal street trading when they can’t
obtain government approval to purchase the U.S currency at the legal rates. The
bolivar has tumbled 88% in the unofficial markets over the past year amid
the fastest inflation in the world and as President Nicolas Maduro’s
administration prints more currency to pay budget expenses. “The bolivar has gone parabolic in its
collapse,” says Russ Dallen, the head trader at brokerage Caracas Capital
Markets. “Two things are happening: less dollars are coming into the economy from the falling
price of oil, and the Venezuela central bank is printing money like there is no
tomorrow.”
(Bloomberg, http://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2015-07-09/venezuela-s-largest-bill-buys-17-u-s-cents-after-30-plunge)
Venezuelan bankers asked financial authorities
to issue a Bs.500 bill due to the speed at which inflation is accelerating but the Venezuelan
Central Bank (BCV) has been reluctant to do so. Instead, it has increased 89%
circulation of Bs.100 bills in a year. (Veneconomy, http://www.veneconomy.com/site/index.asp?ids=44&idt=44591&idc=2)
Venezuela proposes
ALBA join the BRICS bank
President Nicolás Maduro says the Venezuelan
government will propose the Bolivarian Alliance for the Peoples of Our America
(ALBA) to join the bank of the BRICS bloc (Brazil, Russia, India, China, and
South Africa), with the purpose of consolidating a new financial architecture
benefiting Latin America and the Caribbean. He added that Latin America and the
Caribbean, following the lead of the BRICS development bank, should consolidate
their own economic mechanisms, such as the Bank of the South and the Reserve
Fund of the South, institutions that could foster the development of the
nations of the continent based on complementarity and cooperation. (El
Universal, http://www.eluniversal.com/economia/150709/venezuela-proposes-alba-to-join-the-brics-bank)
Politics and
International Affairs
Poll shows that over
84% of Venezuelans believe the nation is in bad shape
According to the latest DATANALISIS poll, over
84% of all Venezuelans believe the nation is in bad shape, and are mostly
concerned over inflation and scarcities, which now rank above crime as the top
worries. The figure includes a majority of people who describe themselves as "chavistas". More in Spanish:
(Infolatam, http://www.infolatam.com/2015/07/08/mas-de-84-de-los-venezolanos-cree-que-el-pais-esta-mal-segun-encuestadora/)
Maduro: Guyana's aim
is to provoke Venezuela
President Nicolás Maduro says the stance
adopted by the government of Guyana vis-à-vis a border dispute over the
territory of the Essequibo should foster national union for Venezuela to claim
its legitimate right and to fight against provocations in all aspects. He said
some sectors of the Venezuelan opposition have also joined such national union
advocating Venezuela's territorial rights, thus leaving political differences
aside. (El Universal, http://www.eluniversal.com/nacional-y-politica/150709/maduro-guyanas-aim-is-to-provoke-venezuela)
National Assembly
President Cabello: CARICOM is a target
Captain Diosdado Cabello, President of the
National Assembly has criticized the government of Guyana and its President
David Granger, saying Granger was seeking to destroy the Caribbean Community
(CARICOM). "We will never waive,
under no circumstances, the right we have over the Essequibo," says Cabello.
He added that Granger was "acting
like a leader of the Venezuelan opposition," plotting with oil
transnational companies attacking integration. (El Universal, http://www.eluniversal.com/nacional-y-politica/150709/congress-speaker-cabello-caricom-is-a-target)
VenEconomy: About the wave
of violence in Venezuela
Víctor Maldonado, head of the Caracas Chamber
of Commerce, says Venezuela ranks No. 1 in all lists on the topic at global
level with 2.85 deaths per hour; he also says that Venezuelans are living under
a self-inflicted curfew that begins at sunset and lasts through dawn. He adds
that the country is suffering the effects of a complex system of illicit activities,
increasingly organized and in constant conflict, fighting one another for the
control of the national territory and the monopoly of the resulting profits
from those activities. (Latin American Herald Tribune, http://www.laht.com/article.asp?ArticleId=2391895&CategoryId=10717)
Maduro hopes that the US will recognize a
"chavista Venezuela"
President Nicolás Maduro has called the new
diplomatic channel established with the United States a "great achievement" in bilateral
relations. He says the joint agenda includes a review of the size and functions
of embassies, joint efforts in PETROCARIBE, and supporting peace and prosperity
in Haiti. More in Spanish: (El Universal, http://www.eluniversal.com/nacional-y-politica/150710/maduro-espera-que-eeuu-reconozca-a-la-venezuela-chavista)
The trial hearing of Metropolitan Caracas Mayor
Antonio Ledezma’s has been postponed again for next July 28, allegedly due to the
impossibility to transport some of the other defendants in the case from their prison
centers. (Veneconomy, http://www.veneconomy.com/site/index.asp?ids=44&idt=44592&idc=1)
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.
