Turkmenistan Devalues Currency 19% Amid Oil Plunge, Ruble Crisis - Bloomberg

Turkmenistan Devalues Currency 19% Amid Oil Plunge, Ruble Crisis - Bloomberg:



"Turkmenistan devalued its currency by 19 percent versus the dollar, the first depreciation in almost seven years, as slumping energy prices and the weaker Russian ruble pressure former Soviet states.



The country’s central bank weakened the manat to a 3.5 per dollar as of Jan. 1 from 2.85 previously, data on the Central Bank of Turkmenistan’s website show. That’s the first change in the currency peg since May 2008, according to data compiled by Bloomberg.



The depreciation comes as oil slid to the weakest level since May 2009 and natural gas tumbled to a four-month low in Europe, curtailing the earnings prospects for central Asian energy producers. Russia’s financial crisis, spurred by sanctions over the Ukraine conflict and Brent crude’s 48 percent drop last year, is raising speculation that countries including Turkmenistan’s northern neighbor Kazakhstan will need to devalue to keep exports competitive. The ruble weakened 41 percent versus the dollar in 2014."



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