Some shopkeepers in Venezuela have to weight wads of cash instead of counting it due to rapid depreciation of the local currency, The Independent reported on Tuesday, November 29.
Currently, the 100-bolivar note – the nation’s largest – costs less than 10 US cents. Experts anticipate the inflation could reach 720% in 2016. The locals stuff piles of banknotes into backpacks and handbags to go shopping. The inflation disrupted work of ATMs and bank cards are not accepted anywhere.
A Venezuelan shopkeeper who runs a delicatessen told Bloomberg that he uses the same scales to weigh slices of cheese and cash. A gram of bolivar notes costs less than a gram of cheese, he said, without mentioning what value of notes he was referring to. Fast-food giant McDonald's has already halted Big Mac sales in Venezuela due to shortage of food products.
On November 18 Venezuela’s authorities imposed restrictions on public and private banks, limiting cash withdrawals to a daily maximum of 10K bolivars (about $5). The restrictions will come into force on December 1, but people and firms find it difficult to withdraw cash since mid-November.
In 2014 a fall in oil prices devastated Venezuela’s economy. The IMF predicts the inflation will speed up to 1,640% next year, while the forecast for this year is 480%. The government cut working hours of state employees in order to save electric energy. The country suffers from shortage of food and medical supplies. Besides, the authorities had to open the borders with neighboring Columbia so that people could buy goods there.
