CARACAS, Nov 28 (Reuters) - Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro has paved the way for the legalization of the black market for currency through a reform of the Exchange Crimes Law, potentially clarifying operations currently seen stuck in a legal gray area.

The country’s currency controls provide dollars at three different exchange rates depending on the product being imported, but individuals and businesses routinely tap the black market because they cannot get greenbacks via official channels.

The new regulations, which circulated on Friday, would allow for currency transactions between private companies and individuals, providing a legal underpinning for transactions that currently do not have one.

Maduro’s socialist government will need to publish a separate foreign exchange decree for the black market to become a fully legal parallel market, according to economists consulted by Reuters.

“This law gives the government room to open the foreign exchange market in the future,” said Asdrubal Oliveros, director of consultancy Ecoanalitica.

Maduro decreed the legal changes during a televised speech on Nov. 18 without providing details. The new law was published in the Official Gazette that was distributed on Friday.

Venezuela’s currency has plummeted almost 60 percent this year on the black market, with dollars now fetching 150 bolivars, according to the widely watched web site Dolartoday.com. (Reporting by Brian Ellsworth and Corina Pons; Editing by Corina Pons and Paul Simao)