Venezuelan Hard-Currency Reserves Grow

Venezuela's hard-currency reserves have increased to 40.6 billion dollars, thus guaranteeing the country's strength to counter the negative effects of the world financial crisis.

According to a report from the Central Bank of Venezuela, 39.19 billion dollars were deposited in the bank, and the Macroeconomic Stabilization Fund manages 827 million dollars. The latter guarantees fiscal balance in case of variations in oil prices, Venezuela's major export. This is the highest increase in Venezuela's hard-currency reserves, which barely totaled 10 billion dollars in 1999, when President Hugo Chavez took office. Amid the current international economic crisis and the drop in oil prices, those reserves allow Venezuela to continue to carry out development programs in several fields.

Chavez explained recently that those reserves and the strategic funds, including credits from China and Russia, amount to some 80 billion dollars. We should not claim victory yet, but we have the capacity to resist this world financial crisis, although we are forced to be more efficient in controlling expenditures and resources, the president noted.

Chavez has repeatedly said that the crisis will not affect Venezuela's economy seriously, because his country has unhooked from international monetary bodies.

The world's financial heart stopped, but Venezuela's heart is beating well, because it is its own, Chavez said when referring to the bankruptcy of the world capitalist system and big banks in developed countries. Five years ago, Venezuela protected its hard-currency reserves following Chavez's instructions, Economy and Finance Minister Ali Rodriguez said early this month. He pointed out that the bulk of those reserves – 60 percent – are kept in the International Bank of Basel, where all central banks deposit their reserves to protect them, 30 percent are in gold and the rest was deposited in several parts of the world.

Venezuela's reserves in 2007 amounted to 34.28 billion dollars, so they have increased 5.57 billion dollars this year.