Belarus exchange offices run out of foreign currency

Minsk - Belarusian cash exchange bureaus ran out of  foreign currency Tuesday after the sudden devaluation of the national  currency and a surge in exchange rates.

The National Bank of Belarus devalued the national currency Monday by 56  percent against the US dollar. The official Belarusian ruble rate for May 24  has been set at 4,930 to the dollar.

Almost all exchange offices in the country have set the same rates of 5,000  Belarusian rubles to the dollar, 7,000 to the euro and 175 to the Russian   ruble.

The Belarusian National Bank said Monday it would regulate the exchange  rate, banning other banks' currency exchange offices from selling or buying  the Belarusian ruble at rates more than two percent above the rate  established by the National Bank.

In the first quarter of this year, Belarus's gold and currency reserves  shrank on rumours of the possible devaluation of the Belarusian ruble, which  triggered an acute demand for foreign currency.