Venezuela’s Money Supply Soars By A Record 200%

Two weeks ago, Reuters reported that due to “unexplained” reasons, the Venezuela central bank had stopped publishing its M2, or money supply, data. The M2 money supply was up by nearly 180% in mid-February from a year earlier, according to the central bank before it halted the release of the weekly data without explanation in February.
“If they are not publishing, you know it must be skyrocketing,” Aurelio Concheso, director of the Caracas-based business consultancy Aspen Consulting, stated the obvious. The central bank and ministry of communications did not respond to a request for comment, Reuters adds.
Fast forward to today when following the international outcry over last Wednesday’s failed coup-attempt by Maduro, in which the Supreme Court first withdrew the power of Venezuela’s opposition-controlled Congress, and then promptly reversed itself following loud international outcry and after it appeared that Maduro’s precarious grip on Venezuela society was about to be lost, when Venezuela’s M2 has once again mysteriously reappeared. According to the latest data, the money supply in the crisis-stricken country has surged over 200% in a year, up from 180% as of February, and the fastest rise since records began in 1940, putting it on track for the world’s highest inflation.

This post was published at Zero Hedge on Apr 3, 2017.