CARACAS (Reuters), Approximately half of Venezuela’s payments for food and medicine in Caracas, the capital, are made with dollars. This is according to a report that was published Tuesday by two consulting firms.

Anova Policy and Venezuelan Finance Observatory gathered data on 354 Caracas-based establishments. They found that 34.3% foreign-currency cash payment accounted to 34.3% for purchases this month at supermarkets, hardware shops, and other business, up from 27.5% last December.

According to the report, remaining payments in foreign currencies were paid with bank transfers or cards.

Since President Nicolas Maduro’s relaxation of economic controls in 2019, to aid businesses that are under U.S. economic sanctions and financial turmoil, foreign currency has increased in circulation. Maduro described the dollar as an “escape mechanism.”

Study found that transactions in Venezuela’s bolivar continued despite high inflation.

Venezuelan government wants to increase the value of bolivar, after late-2013 inflation slowdown. They are considering taxing currency transactions. However analysts and business leaders warn that such tax will not ensure bolivar’s recovery.

Jose Guerra, an economist from the Finance Observatory said that bolivars will be sought by people when inflation becomes stable.