IMF forecasts Venezuela’s inflation at 467.9% in 2026 — The Rio Times

The International Monetary Fund forecasts that Venezuela’s average annual inflation will reach 467.9% in 2026. This will be the highest figure among Latin American countries, The Rio Times reports, citing the October World Economic Outlook.

IMF forecast

The estimate of 467.9% reflects the average increase in consumer prices in 2026 compared with 2025. At the same time, year-end inflation, according to the Fund’s calculations, could amount to about 337%, as price growth is expected to slow during the year.

The IMF also forecasts Venezuela’s economy to grow by 5% in 2026. In 2027, the Fund expects economic growth to accelerate to 7% and average annual inflation to slow to 174.7%.

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Oil, sanctions and the bolívar exchange rate

Venezuela, an OPEC member, has the world’s largest proven oil reserves. Oil sales provide the main share of the country’s state revenue. US financial sanctions imposed in 2017 and oil sanctions introduced in 2019 have limited Caracas’s access to a significant part of the global financial system.

According to the IMF’s estimate, Venezuela’s economy may have grown by 9% in 2025. At the same time, increased oil production did not stop price growth, as the bolívar continues to lose value against the US dollar. Venezuela’s central bank sets the official exchange rate at about 877 bolívars per dollar, and everyday prices in the country are largely based on this rate.

Comparison with the region

No other major Latin American economy comes close to Venezuela’s projected inflation rate. Venezuela’s central bank publishes its own monthly data, which recently showed lower rates of price growth, but the IMF’s annual forecast takes into account the sharp rise in prices recorded earlier.