AKIPRESS.COM - Azerbaijan's central bank said on Thursday it had banned the sale of foreign exchange in standalone bureaux de change run by commercial banks in a further move to support the oil exporter's faltering currency, the manat, reports Reuters.

The initiative, outlined by a bank spokesman, was taken with the recent plunge in oil prices exerting huge pressure on the public finances and currencies of oil-dependent countries in the former Soviet Union, raising the risk of social unrest.

The interior ministry said on Wednesday police and soldiers had detained 55 people earlier this week for holding unsanctioned protests. It described those arrested as "radical" political activists and religious extremists.

"Azerbaijan's economy is not so much heading as hurtling towards a crisis," said Chris Weafer, a senior partner at Macro Advisory in Moscow.

Oil and gas account for 75 percent of the Azeri state's revenues. The central bank has been tightening restrictions on sales of foreign currency since cutting the manat loose last month after Russia and Kazakhstan took similar steps to try to preserve their reserves.

In Baku, the Azeri capital, many currency exchange booths had stopped operations before the central bank publicised its ban. 

The central bank had already said this month that anyone wanting to buy over $500 must present their identity card. A Reuters reporter on Thursday saw a queue of around 250 people at one bank trying to exchange currency.