Venezuela GDP Probably Grew 4% in 2011 on Higher Spending
20.05.12
(Updates with quote from central bank president in third paragraph.)
Dec. 30 (Bloomberg) -- A surge in government spending helped Venezuela’s economy, the third-largest in South America, grow 4 percent in 2011 after two years of contraction, the nation’s central bank said.
Expansion was propelled by government construction projects and a recovery in the manufacturing sector, the central bank said today in a report, citing preliminary figures. Official gross domestic product data will be released in late February.
“The recent performance of the Venezuelan economy ratifies the recovery of various productive sectors and allows us to be optimistic about sustained economic growth,” central bank president Nelson Merentes said today in an e-mailed statement.
The resolution of a power shortage, which caused manufacturing to collapse in 2010, boosted the economic recovery, Merentes said. Government spending rose 6 percent and the amount of dollars available in the economy rose 12.7 percent, according to the report.
Source: BusinessWeek