Venezuela crisis: How much is the bolivar worth today? Bs to USD to GBP
VENEZUELA’s economy remained on a knife-edge today after the country’s president Nicolas Maduro slashed five zeros off the bolivar to curb hyper-inflation - but how much is the currency worth today in dollars and pounds?
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Critics say the drastic economic action introduced on Monday will only cause further uncertainty after months of on going food and medical shortages.
A one-day national holiday ushered in the changes, which also saw the currency linked to the government’s derided oil-associated cryptocurrency, the petro.
The 95 per cent valuation plunge was an intention to end the over-circulation of printed money which caused inflation to hit 82,000 percent in July.
Under the new plan, the bolivar was devalued from 285,000 per dollar to six million.
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The petro is now worth $60 or £47, based on the price of a barrel of oil.
However, the International Monetary Fund has estimated prices could still soar to one million percent inflation by the end of 2018.
How much is the bolivar worth today? BsS to USD to GBP
As of Monday, the bolivar fuerte replaced the bolivar soberano - with the five zeros slashed.
Under the new pricing, an item that would have cost 1,000,000 bolivars last week should now be valued at 10 bolivars.
But at the time of writing - 8.13pm on August 21 - one Venezuelan Boliviar was worth £0.0000031 pounds or £0.0000040 dollars.
To appease dissent, President Maduro has introduced a huge increase in the minimum wage for Venezuelan citizens.
Fedecamaras, the country’s main business group, lambasted the 3,000 percent minimum wage increase as “incoherent”, saying it would hit struggling companies hard.
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What has been the response in Venezuela?
In light of the measures, desperate Venezuelans have been attempting to cross the border illegally into neighbouring South American countries.
At least 200 Venezuelans were believed to have unlawfully entered Ecuador on Tuesday.
The country introduced a new rule on Saturday demanding returning nationals show passports instead of national identity cards to stop a surge of people through its borders.
One Venezuelan migrant, Yorian Alcides Gamez, said his aim was to move through Ecuador on to Peru for work.
At home, an estimated 60 percent of the population had joined a national strike in protest at the currency overhaul.
Opposition leader Andres Velasquez told a news conference: “All of us have lost (with these measures), and we are falling into an abyss.
“If we don’t stand firm against the regime, we’re going to have this regime forever, which is their plan.”
