The International Monetary Fund (IMF) considers that Venezuela is consolidating its economic growth , since its economy has been reactivated at high rates, said Agustín Carstens, after a meeting with vice-president José Vicente Rangel and the minister of Planning and Development, Jorge Giordani.

As for how this growth is integrated, Carstens said that it has been a balanced increase, since the economy has grown not only as a result of oil production, but also because the productive sector not related to the oil business has developed. “The International Monetary Fund (IMF) acknowledges Venezuela’s great importance in Latin America, and we have a particular interest in the development of the country”, he said.

Another macroeconomic achievement, welcome by the IMF, is that the inflation rate in Venezuela has been decreasing. On this matter, Rangel commented that inflation will probably total 20% by yearend. It is relevant to point out that according to the IMF, the accumulated inflation until November of 2004 was 17.3%, significantly lower than the inflation registered for the same period in 2003, which was 24.8%.

Published in Quantum N.44

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