Bonds from Venezuela’s state oil company due in October surged after the country paid $1.5 billion of debt that matured Friday. The $1 billion of notes from Petroleos de Venezuela climbed 3.2 cents to 73.14 cents on the dollar as of 2:06 p.m. in New York as the payment bolstered investor confidence and as oil, the country’s main export, headed for its biggest weekly increase since August. The country has another $2.05 billion bond payment due in November. Trade minister Jesus Faria said this week that the government will honor all of its obligations this year, yet swaps traders see a 63 percent change the country will default sometime over the next year, the highest rate in the world. Venezuela’s foreign currency earnings fell to just $77 million in January from a monthly average of $3 billion to $3.5 billion, leaving President Nicolas Maduro with a shortage of dollars […]