The International Monetary Fund says Venezuela inflation will blow past 700 percent this year.

In a note published Friday, IMF Western Hemisphere Director Alejandro Werner said inflation would more than double in the economically struggling South American country in 2016, reaching 720 percent.

Venezuela already suffers from the world's highest inflation rate. The IMF estimates that inflation here was running at 275 percent last year.

Last week, Venezuela's Central Bank published economic data for the first time in more than a year. The bank said inflation reached 141.5 percent by September of last year.

Werner says Venezuela's economic troubles are leading to widespread shortages and "exacting a tragic toll."