UPDATE 1-Kazakh tenge weakens beyond 122.0 per dollar, bounces

(Adds details, trader comments, background)

ALMATY Jan 23 (Reuters) - Kazakh tenge KZT= weakened beyond 122.0 per dollar for a short period on Friday for the first time in more than a year on expectations the new central bank chairman would allow the currency to depreciate.

The tenge touched the bottom at 122.32 on the interbank market and 122.30 on the Kazakh Stock Exchange AFINEX02 before returning to higher levels on central bank interventions, traders said. The tenge traded above 121.0 throughout last year.

Turnover in the exchange's morning session was record-breaking $1,154 billion and the weighted average rate after close at 0500 GMT was 121.60.

"Some players have panicked today and started buying (dollars) regardless of the price," said a forex trader at Alliance bank.

"The central bank has sold more than half a billion dollars already today."

Analysts say the tenge, previously kept by the central bank within a tight range, is likely to catch up with the Russian rouble which has fallen by about 30 percent since last July.

The appointment of Grigory Marchenko as the new central bank chairman earlier this week has led many to believe the exchange rate policy shift towards a weaker tenge was close. (Writing by Olzhas Auyezov; Additional reporting by Tatiana Seroshtanova; Editing by Tomasz Janowski)