The government has forced more than 200 establishments to lower prices in the middle of a hyperinflationary spiral. Venezuela’s opposition-controlled legislature said Monday that inflation in the economically struggling nation reached a staggering 2,600% last year. The figures underline the problems besetting Venezuela, where food, medicines and other basic goods are in extremely short supply. There have been recent instances of looting reported across the country. Venezuela sits atop the world’s largest oil reserves, but low production by the state oil monopoly and the global drop in crude prices has thrown the Latin American country into crisis, news outlets reported. In a report released early January, S&P Global Platts, an energy data and research firm, said Venezuela pumped 1.7 million barrels of oil a day in December, its lowest level since late 2002. That’s down from 2.3 million barrels a day in the […]