Kazakh c.bank says bought over $2.4 bln this year

* Bank bought $2 bln in Jan, $400 mln in early Feb

* To continue curbing large exchange rate movements

* Sees positive current account this year

By Raushan Nurshayeva

ASTANA, Feb 9 - Kazakhstan's central bank bought over $2.4 billion in January and early February as it sought to curb the appreciation of the tenge currency <KZT=>, central bank chairman Grigory Marchenko said on Tuesday.

The tenge, devalued last February by 18 percent, has been strengthening since November, gradually catching up with the Russian rouble <RUB=>.

Kazakhstan widened the tenge trading band from Feb. 5, allowing more appreciation, but the central bank says it would continue to prevent excessive exchange rate movements.

"In the first five days we bought, I think, over $400 million," Marchenko told reporters. "...In January... we bought more than $2 billion."

He said the central bank would not "micromanage" the rate and saw no need to interfere when the dollar/tenge rate moves by 0.2-0.3 tenge per trading session.

Analysts see the tenge strengthening to 135-140 per dollar by the end of this year from the current rate of 148.14.

The tenge has historically strengthened and weakened along with the price of oil, Kazakhstan's main export.

"...If oil prices average $70 this year we think we will have a positive current account balance and we will buy foreign currency," Marchenko said.

"And if the prices are even higher we will buy even more."