IMF warning on economic data

THE IMF has issued a warning to Venezuela for failing to provide the institution with economic data on time and gave it six months to address the lack of some statistics. The decision was not unanimous, with Russia objecting to the move and others abstaining, according to two sources familiar with the IMF board discussion. The sources said that if Venezuela did not improve the flow of data, the IMF could issue a “declaration of censure” under article 8 of the fund’s rules on furnishing of information. An IMF statement said Venezuela was late on data related to the operations of the social security institute and total exports and imports of merchandise. The data is used in the IMF’s monitoring of world economies. The IMF said that projecting an economic outlook for Venezuela was complicated by gaps in receiving data, and it was often incomplete.