Economy
Amid the crisis that has shaken international markets, both Venezuela's benchmark papers and Pdvsa bonds have reached historic lows, increasing the cost of borrowing and hindering the ability of the Ministry of Finance to curb the black market dollar.

The Global 27, which is the most representative paper of the Venezuelan bond basket, has plummeted to 54.1 percent of its value, the lowest in six years, even lower than the price reached on April 11th, 2002, when despite the coup d'état the Global 27 ended the day at 69.6 percent of its value, and lower than the price reached during the crisis triggered by the oil strike, on January 16th, 2003, when the benchmark paper fell down to 60.7 percent.

The papers of the state-run oil company Petróleos de Venezuela (Pdvsa) have declined sharply. According to a report prepared by Merinvest, as of February 20th, Pdvsa's papers due in 2017 have declined 77.57 percent compared to April 12th, 2007, when the bonds were issued. Meanwhile, the benchmark 2027 bond has plummeted 79.97 percent while the 2037 bond has lowered 76.83 percent.
vsalmeron@eluniversal.com

Víctor Salmerón
EL UNIVERSAL