Latin American Economy & Business - October 2017 (ISSN 1741-7430)

Speculation about whether the Venezuelan government will continue to make scheduled repayments on its external debt has been ongoing all year, but tensions are rising as several large repayments fall due in late October and early November. In total, over US$3.5bn falls due in October and November – which may be more than the central bank (BCV) holds in liquid reserves. The government has continued to repeat that it intends to make the repayments, indicating an ongoing desire to avoid default, but with the economy in such bad shape, it is unclear whether it actually has the funds.