Venezuelan economic growth exceeds expectations
Growth in the Venezuelan economy in the fourth quarter exceeded expectations, according to the latest figures.
The central bank has revealed that, due to consumer and government spending, the economy grew by 8.5 per cent from last year, higher than the 7.9 per cent forecast, reports Bloomberg.
Gross domestic product grew by 8.4 per cent over 2007, fuelled by the countries healthy supply of oil for export.
Gianfranco Bertozzi, an economist at Lehman Brothers Holdings, told the news agency: "The oil market is extremely buoyant, and there's still plenty of oxygen for the local economy.
"There's plenty of room for the government to spend more.'
While oil is a key contributor to the economy, with Venezuela being the fourth-biggest supplier of crude oil to the US, a growth in manufacturing (6.7 per cent), retail sales (14.7 per cent) and communications (18.9 per cent), also contributed to the country's growing economy.
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