CEE MARKETS-Zloty holds stable after lower-than-expected flash CPI
By Anita Komuves BUDAPEST, June 30 (Reuters) - The Polish zloty was stable on Wednesday, as a lower-than-expected flash inflation reading cooled expectations of a rate hike, while its central European peers were also little moved. Markets had been looking forward to the flash CPI estimate to see if Poland's central bank could take a more hawkish tone following interest rate hikes in Hungary and the Czech Republic this month. Polish flash CPI came in at 4.4% year-on-year in June, below expectations, and down from 4.6% in May. "Right now, the play is that if the CPI is higher, the chance for a rate hike is higher, so it's good for the currency," an FX trader in Warsaw said. "If CPI is lower, the chance for a rate hike is lower so the zloty is weaker." The zloty slid immediately after the CPI estimate was published but soon regained losses. It edged up 0.02% to trade at 4.515 per euro by 0935 GMT. Central banker Eugeniusz Gatnar said on Wednesday that inflation in Poland remains worrying and the benchmark interest rate should be raised by 15 basis points. Poland's main interest rate has been at a record low of 0.1% since May 2020. Elsewhere, the Hungarian forint was stable while the Czech crown was 0.1% up and trading at 24.490 per euro. The Hungarian forint was the worst performing currency in the region in June, losing 1.2% versus the euro as it slid back from strong levels hit after the central bank first flagged the possibility of a rate hike in mid-June. The Czech crown lost 0.15% this month, while the Polish zloty was about 0.9% lower than at the beginning of July. The Romanian leu slid 0.28% this month. Most stocks in the region eased on Wednesday, extending losses from the previous session as investors are more and more concerned about the spread of the highly infectious Delta variant of the coronavirus. Budapest's equities was down 0.18% while Prague's market slid 0.61%. Warsaw was 0.54% lower while Bucharest bucked the trend and gained 0.29%. CEE SNAPSHO AT MARKETS T 1135 CET CURRENC IES Latest Previous Daily Change bid close change in 2021 EURCZK= Czech <EURCZK= 25.4900 25.5150 +0.10 +2.90% crown > % EURHUF= Hungary <EURHUF= 351.700 351.6500 -0.01% +3.13% forint > 0 EURPLN= Polish <EURPLN= 4.5150 4.5158 +0.02 +0.98% zloty > % EURRON= Romanian <EURRON= 4.9275 4.9275 +0.00 -1.27% leu > % EURHRK= Croatian <EURHRK= 7.4920 7.4965 +0.06 +0.74% kuna > % EURRSD= Serbian <EURRSD= 117.530 117.6050 +0.06 +0.03% dinar > 0 % Note: calculated from 1800 daily CET change Latest Previous Daily Change close change in 2021 .PX Prague 1155.29 1162.390 -0.61% +12.48 0 % .BUX Budapest 47674.0 47759.62 -0.18% +13.22 2 % .WIG20 Warsaw 2246.00 2258.24 -0.54% +13.21 % .BETI Buchares 11943.9 11909.36 +0.29 +21.81 t 1 % % .SBITOP Ljubljan <.SBITOP 1132.87 1127.94 +0.44 +25.76 a > % % .CRBEX Zagreb 1994.74 1996.02 -0.06% +14.69 % .BELEX1 Belgrade <.BELEX1 767.66 771.77 -0.53% +2.54% 5 5> .SOFIX Sofia 550.68 550.36 +0.06 +23.05 % % Yield Yield Spread Daily (bid) change vs change Bund in Czech spread Republic CZ2YT=R 2-year <CZ2YT=R 0.4740 -0.0010 +113b +0bps R R> ps CZ5YT=R 5-year <CZ5YT=R 1.6810 -0.0690 +226b -6bps R R> ps CZ10YT= <CZ10YT= 1.8230 -0.0060 +201b +1bps RR 10-year RR> ps Poland PL2YT=R 2-year <PL2YT=R 0.4090 0.0000 +106b +0bps R R> ps PL5YT=R 5-year <PL5YT=R 1.3280 -0.0910 +190b -8bps R R> ps PL10YT= <PL10YT= 1.6760 -0.1080 +186b -9bps RR 10-year RR> ps FORWARD 3x6 6x9 9x12 3M interba nk Czech 0.96 1.35 1.60 0.66 Rep <PRIBOR= > Hungary 1.48 1.82 1.99 1.05 Poland 0.31 0.52 0.72 0.21 Note: are for ask FRA prices quotes ********************************************* ***************** (Additional reporting by Alan Charlish in Warsaw; editing by Uttaresh.V)
