Dec 23, 2014
Will Venezuela default? Investors think so
Oil, whose price has halved in the past year, accounts for 95 percent of the country’s exports and 45 percent of the government’s budget.
Venezuela’s dealing with a double whammy as far as oil prices are concerned. Oil, whose price has halved in the past year, accounts for 95 percent of the country’s exports and 45 percent of the government’s budget. Oil is the primary source for the U.S. dollars needed to sustain the country’s severe import dependence and external debt. Traders put the odds of default within the next five years at 91 percent.