Kazakhstan's currency just lost more than 20 per cent of its value at the start of trading, about an hour after the surprise announcement that the government would allow the currency to float freely.

哈萨克斯坦政府突然宣布，允许其货币自由浮动。消息公布大约一小时后，哈萨克坚戈甫一开盘就暴跌逾20%。

One dollar is now worth 257.7 tenge, taking its year-to-date plunge to nearly 30 per cent.

目前，坚戈汇率为1美元兑257.7坚戈，该货币今年迄今的跌幅已接近30%。

The Kazakh central bank scrapped the trading band for the tenge early on Thursday, just one day after the Kazakh central bank widened the currency's trade band and allowed it to weaken 4.7 per cent to 196.88 per dollar, the lowest since at least 1994.

周四早上，哈萨克斯坦央行取消了对坚戈汇率交易区间的规定。仅仅一天前，该行刚刚扩大了坚戈汇率的交易区间，允许这种货币兑美元贬值4.7%，跌至1美元兑196.88坚戈，这是至少1994年以来的最低汇率。

As the FT noted overnight, the oil-dependent central Asian country trades heavily with Russia and China and is being buffeted by the fall in the rouble and crude prices.

正如英国《金融时报》夜间报道所指出的，这个依赖石油的中亚国家与中俄两国都有大量贸易往来。卢布和油价的暴跌，令该国经济大受打击。

The twin moves to reform how the currency trades comes within nine days of China devaluing the renminbi and changing the way it will be fixed each morning, ostensibly to give more voice to markets.

就在该国此次接连推出坚戈交易改革举措前9天，中国曾令人民币大幅贬值，并改变了每天早晨制定人民币汇率中间价的方式，摆出了给予市场更多发言权的姿态。

Kazakhstan's move to widen the trading band followed in the footsteps of Vietnam, which has expanded the trading band for the dong twice since August 11. Kazakhstan's move to freely-float the tenge goes a major way forward and could fuel more worries of an unintended currency war sparked by China.

8月11日以来，越南曾两度扩大越南盾交易区间。而哈萨克斯坦扩大坚戈交易区间的举措，就发生在越南之后。该国令坚戈汇率自由浮动的举措则向前迈进了一大步，可能会令人们愈发担心中国无意中引发了一场汇率战争。