ALMATY — The tenge lost more than a quarter of its value on Thursday as Kazakhstan fired the latest salvo in an emerging market currency war, ditching a trading band stretched to breaking point by sharp falls in crude and commodities prices. President Nursultan Nazarbayev said oil-dependent Kazakhstan, which has lost competitiveness to trading rivals during a wave of devaluations and depreciations in the region, had been forced to act. “No one could have stood aloof from this (currency) storm,” he told a meeting of officials and business leaders broadcast on state television, adding that the central bank had spent $28 billion since the start of 2014 defending the tenge. Prime Minister Karim Masimov said earlier that Kazakhstan would now compete better, “including on the markets of our neighbors,” referring to Russia and China, which sent shockwaves through emerging markets by devaluing the yuan. — Reuters
