Venezuela's May inflation eases in bolívares as food basket reaches record cost

The Observatory of Public Expenditure (OGP) reported that Venezuela's inflation in bolívares fell to 6.77 % in May, down from 18.4 % the month before, while inflation measured in dollars declined by 1.86 %. Year‑on‑year inflation reached 676.35 % in bolívares and 52.96 % in dollars. A three‑person household now requires at least 509,376 bolívares (about $959) to buy a basic basket of 61 goods and services, roughly four full salaries. Prices that rose most were services (+17.2 %), transport (+10.62 %) and restaurants (+6.24 %); food and beverages increased only 0.35 % in bolívares. In dollar terms, food fell 8.09 %, perfumery 7.22 % and recreation 3.06 %, while services and transport rose 7.06 % and 2.54 % respectively.

The Centre for Documentation and Social Analysis (Cendas‑FVM) noted that the food basket, when water costs are added, hit a historic $785.05. The base salary remains frozen at 130 bolívares (≈ $0.25), covering just 0.03 % of the basket, meaning a worker would need more than 3,090 minimum wages or three $240 bonuses to afford basic food. Water alone adds $12.31 to monthly expenses. Economist José Guerra called for a national debate on formal dollarisation, criticizing the central bank's injection of roughly $6 billion this year as insufficient to close the gap between official and parallel exchange rates and urging a deeper fiscal review.