Venezuela's Cabezas Says Inflation Will Slow in April

Venezuelan inflation, the highest in Latin America, may slow in April as tax cuts on consumer goods begin to take effect, Finance Minister Rodrigo Cabezas said.

Value-added tax cuts and a measures not yet announced will help Venezuela slow inflation to meet the central bank's 12 percent target by year-end, Cabezas told the state news agency, without detailing the government's plans.

Annual inflation reached 20.4 percent in Venezuela in February, as soaring government spending pumped cash into the economy and exchange controls trapped money in the system.
``Prices are going to fall a little bit in March because they cut the value-added tax,'' Miguel Octavio, head of research at BBO Financial Services in Caracas, said in a telephone interview. ``But that doesn't mean inflation will slow for long. It's temporary, it's a one shot deal.''

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