Venezuela will hike the price of its heavily subsidized gasoline by October, President Nicolas Maduro said on Monday, as the crisis-stricken government seeks to shore up its coffers amid hyperinflation that is accelerating a broad economic collapse. Venezuela’s President Nicolas Maduro participates in the process of buying a savings certificate in gold at Venezuela’s Central Bank in Caracas, Venezuela in this handout picture obtained by Reuters September 3, 2018. Miraflores Palace/Handout via REUTERS Despite the crisis, fuel prices are set so low that the equivalent of $1 buys nearly 400,000 gallons of fuel. That cripples the state’s hard currency earnings and drives a lucrative smuggling trade. The government on Tuesday will launch a new payment system using a state-backed identification card in border states to limit smuggling, Maduro said, and will increase prices to international levels once that system is in place. “During the course of […]