Venezuela's annual inflation rises to 63.4%

http://www.bbc.com/news/world-latin-america-29140359

Venezuela's annual inflation rate has risen to 63.4%, the highest in Latin America, according to official figures published on Tuesday.

The figures are the first released by the central bank since May, which has led critics to accuse the government of withholding data for political reasons.

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The central bank did not publish its scarcity index, a measure of goods that are missing from store shelves, but shortages of basic items such as flour, milk and toilet paper continue to be the bane of many shoppers.



While the bank said that month-to-month inflation had eased in August for the third straight month to 3.9%, the annual inflation rate reached a six-year high.