Kazakhstan's national currency, the tenge, has lost 26 percent of its value against the U.S. dollar within hours of a government announcement that it would abandon its currency-band exchange-rate system to implement a free-floating exchange rate.
Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty: Kazakhs reel, abandon fixed currency as tenge tumbles
Kazakhstan President Nursultan Nazarbayev gaestures as he speaks during his statement for the results of the talks with Ukrainian President in Kyiv on Dec. 22, 2014.
