Kazakhstan's currency rebounds as stock market slumps on cheap oil, China turbulence

Kazakhstan's currency recovered some of its recent losses against the dollar Monday with a 15 percent rise, even as the country's stock market slumped.

The tenge traded at 218.61 to the dollar in the morning session on the Kazakhstan stock exchange, down from 252.47. The tenge had slumped by over 25 percent against the dollar on Thursday when Kazakhstan's government and central bank moved to a free float, abandoning a trading corridor.

Central Asian oil producer Kazakhstan's economy has been under pressure from the low oil price and slowdowns in neighboring China and Russia.

Also Monday, the exchange's main stock index dropped 7.2 percent, with a 13.6 percent drop for state oil and gas producer KazMunaiGas and an 8.5 fall for copper miner KAZ Minerals.