The World - News from Oct. 4, 1988

Nicaragua’s Sandinista rulers devalued the national currency by 77% and boosted the price of gasoline in the year’s fourth round of measures designed to shore up a battered economy. The official exchange rate for the cordoba went to 320 to the dollar from 180. Gasoline rose to $2.03 per gallon from $1.02 per gallon. A month ago, it sold for 46 cents per gallon. To help cope with the increases, state workers received a 35% raise. The government, blaming the economic woes on the eight-year war with U.S.-backed rebels, began making adjustments in February, when inflation was officially put at 1,300%.