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By Walter Brandimarte
NEW YORK, June 27 (Reuters) - Venezuela does not rule out devaluing its currency, but the government is mindful of the impact of such a move in the country's already high inflation rates, Finance Minister Ali Rodriguez said on Saturday.
Speaking to reporters during a short trip to New York, Rodriguez forecast inflation will close 2009 at around 28 percent and will remain "high" in 2010, until Venezuela is able to reduce its dependency on imported food and goods.
Venezuela's fixed exchange rate of 2.15 bolivares per U.S. dollar is seen as unsustainable by economists, who say President Hugo Chavez will eventually need to devalue the currency to offset a fall in revenues.
"The currency is a merchandise, and we can never rule out adjustments in the price of merchandises, but we have to take into account the impacts of that," Rodriguez said.
"Because we have high inflation, a devaluation would increase that problem, hurting the buying power of workers and consumption in general."
On the Venezuelan black market, the dollar is worth more than 6 bolivares. In order to reduce the pressure on the bolivar, the government and its state-owned companies often issue, on the domestic market, bonds denominated in dollars but payable in the local currency.
State-owned oil firm PDVSA is currently launching up to $3 billion in 2011 bonds and state-run basic industries holding Corporacion Venezolana de Guayana, or CVG, is also studying to issue some $4 billion in bolivar-denominated bonds, Rodriguez said.
"We are still studying that, it will need approval of the central bank," he said.
CAUTIOUS DESPITE HIGHER OIL
Venezuela's government revenues have been negatively impacted by last year's sharp drop in oil prices, the country's main export. Despite a recent rebound that raised the barrel of U.S. crude oil to around $70, Rodriguez sounded cautious about the prospects for the Venezuelan economy.
"Oil prices improved but we cannot say it they improved consistently," he said, blaming the sharp price swings on speculators in the futures market.
He said it is still possible for the Venezuelan economy to modestly grow this year, thanks to the reserves accumulated by the government in a state-run fund that has been financing Chavez' infrastructure investments.
The fund, known as Fonden, currently holds reserves of $5 billion to $7 billion, Rodriguez said, adding that the government also has some additional $8 billion in Chinese loans, which will be repaid with supplies of crude oil and fuel.
Rodriguez came to New York to attend a United Nations conference on the financial crisis. He was unable to deliver his speech at the conference, however, because his flight was delayed by U.S. visa problems.
(Editing by Sandra Maler)