Kazakhstan Halts Gold Exports As Its Currency Falters

Kazakhstan has banned the export of hard currency in amounts worth more than $10,000, as well as gold and silver bullion, as it attempts to stabilize a national currency battered by the knock-on effect of international sanctions against its main trading partner, Russia. The decree approved by President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev on March 14 in effect nullifies one important provision of the Moscow-led Eurasian Economic Union trading bloc, which allows in principle for the free movement of capital. In a briefing on this provision, Finance Minister Yerulan…