Forint firms after Hungarian inflation tops expectations
BUDAPEST, Aug 8 (Reuters) -Hungary's forint firmed on Thursday after inflation came in above forecast, tempering investors' expectations for monetary easing, while global risk sentiment recovered further, helping emerging market currencies.
The forint EURHUF= led the region's currencies higher after Hungary's headline and core consumer price indexes came in above estimates, heightening investors' expectations for a pause in the central bank's rate-cutting in August.
The forint was trading at 397.25 per euro at 0734 GMT.
The National Bank of Hungary (NBH) cut its borrowing costs HUINT.ECI= by 25 basis points (bps) to 6.75% in July, and markets expect one or two more cuts later this year.
Hungarian headline inflation HUCPIY=ECI rose to an annual 4.1% in July from 3.7% in June, with core inflation HUCPIC=ECI also accelerating to 4.7% from 4.1%.
"Today's data shows that core inflation processes are not fully under control," Orsolya Nyeste, macroeconomist at Erste, said.
"The expectation is formulating that the NBH will not cut rates in August, and markets will temper their expectations of longer-term rate cuts. This is supportive for the forint."
The NBH has delivered 15 consecutive rate cuts since May 2023, reducing its policy rate by 1,125 bps after bringing inflation down from its peak of 25% in early 2023.
The Romanian leu was unfazed by Wednesday's rate cut from the National Bank of Romania (NBR), trading at 4.97 per euro after the NBR cut its monetary policy rate ROINTR.ECI by 25 bps to 6.50%.
"Underlying inflation measures have fallen in recent months, and we continue to expect external factors to weigh on Romanian inflation through the remainder of 2024 and into 2025," Goldman Sachs said in a note.
The Polish zloty EURPLN= traded at 4.32 to the euro, with analysts expecting it to drift in a range of 4.30-4.33.
The Czech crown EURCZK= traded at 25.25 per euro.
CEE MARKETS | SNAPSHOT | AT 0934 CET | ||||
CURRENCIES | ||||||
Latest | Previous | Daily | Change | |||
trade | close | change | in 2024 | |||
EURCZK= | Czech crown | EURCZK= | 25.2500 | 25.2740 | +0.10% | -2.17% |
EURHUF= | Hungary forint | EURHUF= | 397.2500 | 398.0000 | +0.19% | -3.54% |
EURPLN= | Polish zloty | EURPLN= | 4.3215 | 4.3225 | +0.02% | +0.53% |
EURRON= | Romanian leu | EURRON= | 4.9765 | 4.9770 | +0.01% | -0.04% |
EURRSD= | Serbian dinar | EURRSD= | 116.9700 | 117.0200 | +0.04% | +0.24% |
Note: daily change | calculated from | 1800 CET | ||||
Latest | Previous | Daily | Change | |||
close | change | in 2024 | ||||
.PX | Prague | .PX | 1553.40 | 1555.1300 | -0.11% | +9.86% |
.BUX | Budapest | .BUX | 70894.07 | 71554.39 | -0.92% | +16.95% |
.WIG20 | Warsaw | .WIG20 | 2198.36 | 2236.35 | -1.70% | -6.17% |
.BETI | Bucharest | .BETI | 17974.80 | 17997.77 | -0.13% | +16.94% |
Spread | Daily | |||||
vs Bund | change in | |||||
Czech Republic | spread | |||||
CZ2YT=RR | 2-year | CZ2YT=RR | 3.4560 | -0.0190 | +112bps | +6bps |
CZ5YT=RR | 5-year | CZ5YT=RR | 3.4970 | -0.0170 | +139bps | +5bps |
CZ10YT=RR | 10-year | CZ10YT=RR | 3.7370 | -0.0100 | +152bps | +4bps |
Poland | ||||||
PL2YT=RR | 2-year | PL2YT=RR | 4.7600 | -0.0430 | +242bps | +3bps |
PL5YT=RR | 5-year | PL5YT=RR | 5.0120 | -0.0460 | +290bps | +2bps |
PL10YT=RR | 10-year | PL10YT=RR | 5.2260 | -0.0180 | +300bps | +3bps |
FORWARD RATE AGREEMENTS | ||||||
3x6 | 6x9 | 9x12 | 3M interbank | |||
Czech Rep | CZKFRAPRIBOR= | 4.04 | 3.61 | 3.30 | 4.43 | |
Hungary | HUFFRABUBOR= | 6.60 | 6.12 | 5.68 | 6.53 | |
Poland | PLNFRAWIBOR= | 5.67 | 5.36 | 4.88 | 5.85 | |
Note: FRA quotes | are for ask prices | |||||
************************************************************** | ||||||
Reporting by Boldizsar Gyori in Budapest, and Pawel Florkiewicz in Warsaw; Editing by Mark Potter
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