Turkmens Scramble To Sell Dollars As Devaluation Fears Grow -AFP

ASHGABAT, Turkmenistan (AFP)--Turkmens are lining up to sell their dollars in the gas-rich Central Asian state as rumors fly of a possible devaluation. Hundreds waited in the rain Friday to cash in their dollars before the feared devaluation, from the current fixed rate of 20,000 manats to the dollar. "There are rumors everywhere. One person says that the new course will be TMM6,250, another TMM16,000, others say TMM12,000 (to the dollar). People are hurrying to sell their dollars," said Svetlana, 30, who asked for her last name not to be used. The scenes are signs of change - tough changes for many - in the energy-rich former Soviet state. Exchanges have limited the amount that each person can change, but Turkmens have worked out how to get around the limitations. Known for its secrecy, the Turkmen government has said nothing about the currency fears, and local media, controlled by the state, has remained equally silent. "It is all speculation," said an employee of the state bank. Until January, the official dollar rate was TMM5,200 a dollar - a rate unchanged for 10 years, most of them under the reclusive leader Niyazov who closed the country off from the world. New President Gurbanguly Berdymukhamedov, who took over in December 2006 after Niyazov's death, fixed the rate at TMM20,000 to the dollar at the beginning of the year as he begins to implement reforms. But by Friday, the manat had sunk to TMM17,500/dollar on the black market. The queues to sell dollars show how ordinary Turkmens are wary about the economic changes in the country under the new regime. In February, gasoline prices soared eight times higher, having previously remained unchanged since 1993. The government only gave 24 hours notice before the price increase, causing huge queues at gasoline stations throughout the country.