The Big Sale on Gold in the South of Venezuela: Buy One Gram, Get One Free (Spanish)

There are no scales, no price appraisals, nor regulation. The norms of the international gold market doesn't reach south of the Orinoco River, a microcosm of Venezuela where the only rule for buying and selling the precious metal is that there are no rules—even more so when the flow of people and goods is under pressure, such as with the COVID-19 pandemic. This is how, despite record-breaking gold numbers outside of Venezuelan borders, the same metal is sold for less than half-price in the state of Bolívar.

On April 30, international news outlets reported a rise in the price of gold and the closing of the market's "best month in four years." By the end of the first four months of 2020, value rose by nine percent, reaching US$54.75 per gram (US$1,715.25 per ounce). According to these reports, monetary flexibilization by central banks and concerns about a global recession have been behind the rise in value.

To read the full version of this article in Spanish, visit Armando.Info.