Annual inflation in Venezuela, one of the driving forces behind a wave of anti-government protests, hit 57.3 percent in February, the central bank said Friday.
Demonstrators have poured almost daily into the streets of the capital Caracas and other major Venezuelan cities since February 4, leaving at least 28 people dead and ratcheting up the pressure on leftist President Nicolas Maduro.
Despite the protests, inflation slowed to 2.4 percent, the Central Bank of Venezuela (BCV) said, compared to 3.3 percent in January, the second lowest rate in the last 12 months but still the highest year-on-year in Latin America.
Analysts have routinely attributed Venezuela's crippling inflation to rigid currency and price controls that were launched in 2003 by president Hugo Chavez, who died a year ago, before his hand-picked successor Maduro took over.
The oil-rich country, which is heavily dependent on imports, has been plagued by shortages of basic goods ranging from meat to toilet paper, sparking the demonstrations that are the biggest test of Maduro's leadership since he took power.
According to the BCV, areas that saw the biggest price increases included the health sector, hotels, alcohol and restaurants.
In November, Maduro ordered appliance stores to slash prices, sent troops to enforce the move and threatened to arrest store owners who refused to comply.
Maduro last year blamed a "parasitic capitalist economy" for Venezuela's mounting inflation woes and has accused private sectors linked to the opposition of waging an "economic war."
Annual inflation in Venezuela, one of the driving forces behind a wave of anti-government protests, hit 57.3 percent in February, the central bank said Friday.
Demonstrators have poured almost daily into the streets of the capital Caracas and other major Venezuelan cities since February 4, leaving at least 28 people dead and ratcheting up the pressure on leftist President Nicolas Maduro.
Despite the protests, inflation slowed to 2.4 percent, the Central Bank of Venezuela (BCV) said, compared to 3.3 percent in January, the second lowest rate in the last 12 months but still the highest year-on-year in Latin America.
Analysts have routinely attributed Venezuela’s crippling inflation to rigid currency and price controls that were launched in 2003 by president Hugo Chavez, who died a year ago, before his hand-picked successor Maduro took over.
The oil-rich country, which is heavily dependent on imports, has been plagued by shortages of basic goods ranging from meat to toilet paper, sparking the demonstrations that are the biggest test of Maduro’s leadership since he took power.
According to the BCV, areas that saw the biggest price increases included the health sector, hotels, alcohol and restaurants.
In November, Maduro ordered appliance stores to slash prices, sent troops to enforce the move and threatened to arrest store owners who refused to comply.
Maduro last year blamed a “parasitic capitalist economy” for Venezuela’s mounting inflation woes and has accused private sectors linked to the opposition of waging an “economic war.”
