PDVSA, Venezuela's state-owned oil company, is expected to issue a bond for at least $2bn this month, easing its mounting cash flow crisis and stemming a heavy depreciation in the black market exchange rate.
Buffeted by declining oil revenues, PDVSA's ability to pay contractors and the government's ability to satisfy demand for dollars - which it has regulated since introducing capital controls in 2003 - have been seriously weakened.
