Kazakhstan: The Falling Tenge

Kazakhstan's central bank devalued the country's currency by 22 percent on Feb. 4, bringing the rate down from 122.3 to 149.5 tenge per U.S. dollar. The move comes just after the nationalization of two of Kazakhstan's largest banks. The decline in the tenge is not expected to affect Kazakhstan's lucrative energy sector. Furthermore, since the devaluation was announced shortly after the banks' nationalization, it indicates that Astana wants to keep doing business with the West rather than allowing its banks to default on foreign loans.