Venezuela's 2023 inflation hit nearly 190%, but December prices barely ticked up

CARACAS (Reuters) - Venezuela's annual inflation rate settled at 189.8% last year, according to data from the central bank released on Friday, marking a slight easing of the still sky-high rate of rising consumer prices in the South American nation's battered economy.

The inflation rate during the previous year clocked in at 234%, one of the highest inflation rates anywhere in the world.

But Venezuela's monthly inflation for December eased to just 2.4%, according to the bank.

While Venezuela's economy has suffered a prolonged meltdown marked by triple-digit inflation and a mass exodus of millions of migrants seeking better prospects elsewhere, its inflation rate is no longer Latin America's steepest since Argentina's sped past 200% last year.

(Reporting by Vivian Sequera; Editing by Brendan O'Boyle)