Venezuela Inflation Caused by Oil Wealth, Ali Rodriguez Says

Venezuela Finance Minister Ali Rodriguez said higher consumer prices are being driven by a greater distribution of oil wealth to the population. Rodriguez said inflation, which in May accelerated to 31.4 percent from a year earlier, results from increased spending power among Venezuelans, causing demand to outpace supply, according to a statement on the Information Ministry's Web site. He was named finance minister June 15. ``The inflation phenomenon should be combated in two ways,'' Rodriguez said. ``On one hand, production needs to be stimulated, and on the other, consumption needs to be moderated by restructuring measures that don't improve the general well- being in the population.'' Venezuela has the fastest inflation of 79 countries tracked by Bloomberg. Food costs surged 6.1 percent in May after the government eased price restrictions on basics such as milk, eggs and chicken that had become scarce. Rodriguez, 70, a former president of OPEC, is the ninth finance minister under President Hugo Chavez since 1999. He said yesterday that controlling inflation is his biggest challenge.