economy
Inflación y devaluación golpean en la primera quincena de 2026
El bolívar experimentó una devaluación significativa frente al dólar oficial del Banco Central de Venezuela (BCV) durante los primeros 15 días de 2026. La tasa oficial inició el año cerca de los 301 bolívares por dólar, cerró el 15 de enero en 339,15 bolívares y ya este 16 de enero se cotiza en más de 341 bolívares.
TL;DR
- The official exchange rate saw a 12.6% increase in the dollar's value against the bolívar during the first half of January 2026.
- Daily increases in the dollar's value ranged from 0.8% to 1.8%.
- Economists like José Guerra warned of an impending pre-hyperinflationary process, attributing it to uncontrolled devaluation and monetary expansion to finance the government deficit.
- Guerra estimated inflation between 27%-30% for December 2025 and around 590% annually for the previous period.
- Asdrúbal Oliveros highlighted the impact of the widening exchange rate gap, which has reached maximum levels amid political uncertainty, leading to a contraction in purchasing power.
- Henkel García suggested that a sustained and credible reduction in the exchange rate gap could lead to lower prices in bolívares, but emphasized the need for persistence.