Azerbaijan suspends some forex sales in effort to head off currency crisis
Source: Reuters
BAKU/LONDON, Jan 14 (Reuters) - Azerbaijan's central bank said on Thursday it had banned the sale of foreign exchange in standalone bureaux de change run by commercial banks in a further move to support the oil exporter's faltering currency, the manat.
The initiative, outlined by a bank spokesman, was taken with the recent plunge in oil prices exerting huge pressure on the public finances and currencies of oil-dependent countries in the former Soviet Union, raising the risk of social unrest.
The interior ministry said on Wednesday police and soldiers had detained 55 people earlier this week for holding unsanctioned protests. It described those arrested as "radical" political activists and religious extremists.
"Azerbaijan's economy is not so much heading as hurtling towards a crisis," said Chris Weafer, a senior partner at Macro Advisory in Moscow.
Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/wires/reuters/article-3399438/Azerbaijan-suspends-forex-sales-effort-head-currency-crisis.html
Scores of people, including opposition activists, were detained in Azerbaijan on January 13 amid countrywide protests over worsening economic conditions in the oil-rich Caucasus state.
Protesters rallied in the districts of Fizuli, Aqsu, Aqcabardi, Siyazan, and Lankaran to voice their anger over price hikes on staples such as flour and bread.
Most of the arrests were made in the district of Siyazan, where troops were sent in. Overall, 55 people were detained there "to protect citizens' constitutional rights and ensure public safety," the Interior Ministry and the Prosecutor-General's Office said in a joint statement.
The statement added that those detained held "illegal marches" in the city of Siyazan on both January 12 and 13.
http://www.rferl.org/content/azerbaijan-protests-arrests-rising-prices/27487867.html