Venezuelan prices rise 1.7 percent in April
Venezuelan consumer prices rose 1.7 percent in April, surging ahead despite government efforts to tame inflation in the oil-rich country.Consumer prices increased by 8.9 percent in the first four months of 2008, Central Bank figures released Tuesday show.
Venezuela will devalue its ``strong bolívar'' currency on New Year's Day, the government said Thursday, the second such devaluation within a year and at least the fifth major devaluation during the decade-long populist government of President Hugo Chávez.