Moscow's bustling street trade in dollars was thrown into confusion yesterday as rumours of a rouble devaluation made hard currency scarce.

Some of the hundreds of foreign with dollars.

Some banks refused to let depositors withdraw dollars from savings accounts, though it was not clear whether this was due to rumoured trouble in the banking system or just a shortage of bills in the cash register.

Muscovites expressed fears of a repeat of the events of 1991-92, when withdrawals from state banks were restricted as Soviet communism collapsed and many Russians' savings were suddenly made worthless by inflation.

A brief tour of 15 bureaux de change found that at about half, including at the state savings bank Sberbank, cashiers said they had no dollars. In places, offices were simply shut.

Most exchange points that were still selling dollars in central Moscow raised their rates on dollar sales from 1 or 2 per cent above their buying rate to up to 10 percent. Some exchange points raised rates several times during the day.

By later in the day many exchange points that had closed earlier were open again with sharply higher rates. In places, queues stretched out into the streets.

Officials estimate that 150 million Russians hold over $30 billion in US banknotes, the highest accumulation outside the United States and rather more than the value of roubles in circulation, so street exchange rates are closely watched.