Kazakhstan's currency plunges after central bank abandons USD peg

The Kazakh currency, the tenge, has lost a quarter of its value against the US dollar after abandoning a peg to the Greenback.

The country’s national bank said the move to let the tenge float freely was to make its currency more competitive.

Kazakhstan has been hit by a slide in the global price of oil.

A barrel cost 100 dollars last year. It is now down to the level of 40 dollars.

Kazakhstan has also affected by a fall in the value of rival currencies from other emerging markets.

The Russian ruble has close to halved in value against the dollar since a year ago.

China’s yuan has fallen by roughly three percent in the past few days.