World Economic outlook - Venezuela CPI January 2012 : The steep climb of inflation in Venezuela slowed somewhat to begin the year, with the country's consumer price index rising 1.5% in January from the previous month and posting a 12-month rate of 26%, the Central Bank of Venezuela reported Tuesday.
January's figure is the smallest month-on-month jump since the 1.4% registered in April, less than the 1.8% rise in December and well below the 2.7% leap in January 2011.
The annualized rate last month also compares favorably to Venezuela's year-ending 27.6% inflation in December.
According to analysts at Goldman Sachs, "underlying inflationary pressures may be masked by increasing price controls."
The government of President Hugo Chavez announced plans last year to aggressively expand price caps across the Venezuelan economy. As part of the new law, officials created a national agency, known as Sundecop, to examine the cost structures of an estimated 16,000 firms and determine what the government deems as reasonable profit.
Authorities froze prices in November on 19 items, mostly personal-hygiene and household-cleaning products, pending the release of the first wave of adjustments. The business sector in Venezuela has entered a holding pattern as it waits to assess the impact of the implemented measure. The announcement, originally slated for December, has been delayed three times and has been rescheduled for some time this month.
The Caracas price index, considered by many economists to be a benchmark for Venezuela, mirrored the nationwide trend and also rose 1.5% last month.
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