CEE MARKETS-Forint keeps momentum, Prague stocks hit 9-month high

By Jason Hovet PRAGUE, Feb 3 (Reuters) - Hungary's forint tested a fresh eight-month high on Friday, keeping some positive momentum as central Europe's currencies largely moved sideways after the dollar picked up ahead of U.S. employment data later in the day. The forint remained the main mover in central Europe, nearing its highest level since the end of May 2022. It traded up 0.1% at 385.65 to the euro at 1054 GMT, off a session high of 384.50. Currencies in central Europe had got a boost on Thursday from a strong euro, which is the region's main reference currency, after the European Central Bank delivered a 50 basis point interest rate hike. But on Friday, the U.S. dollar rose, limiting risk appetite, as markets waited on employment numbers expected to be strong.

The Polish zloty lost 0.15%, retreating to 4.689 per euro. The crown was steady at 23.76 to the euro a day after the Czech National Bank left rates at a more than two-decade high as expected, while saying rate stability for longer was preferred. Governor Ales Michl said he expected rates to stay higher than what markets, which see cuts over the next year, were pricing. He also backed a strong crown as it trades around 14-year highs. "The crown may test 23.70 levels in the short term but the EUR/CZK move lower is limited in our view and the crown will be rather stable compared to CEE peers," ING said. On stock markets, Prague continued to gain, adding to its more than 13% gains seen so far in 2023, as the index touched its highest since April last year. The rise has been led by a jump in utility CEZ shares, although the biggest gain on Friday was lender MONETA Money Bank , which rose 2.1% after a strong fourth-quarter showing and dividend proposal. CEE SNAPSHO AT

MARKETS T 1154

CET

CURRENC

IES

Latest Previou Daily Change s

bid close change in 2023 EURCZK Czech <EURCZK 23.7600 23.7670 +0.03% +1.68% = crown =>
EURHUF Hungary <EURHUF 385.650 386.050 +0.10% +3.58% = forint => 0 0
EURPLN Polish <EURPLN 4.6890 4.6820 -0.15% +0.01% = zloty =>
EURRON Romanian <EURRON 4.9010 4.9021 +0.02% +0.85% = leu =>
EURHRK Croatian <EURHRK 7.5330 7.5365 +0.05% +0.05% = kuna =>
EURRSD Serbian <EURRSD 117.320 117.300 -0.02% -0.02% = dinar => 0 0

Note: calcula 1800

daily ted CET

change from

Latest Previou Daily Change s

close change in 2023 .PX Prague 1360.17 1351.96 +0.61% +13.18 00 % .BUX Budapest 45410.8 45643.2 -0.51% +3.69% 6 9
.WIG20 Warsaw <.WIG20 1914.77 1903.79 +0.58% +6.85% >
.BETI Buchares 12281.5 12260.1 +0.17% +5.30% t 2 8
.SBITO Ljubljan <.SBITO 1162.29 1150.01 +1.07% +10.82 P a P> % .BELEX Belgrade <.BELEX 870.76 861.61 +1.06% +5.60% 15 15>
.SOFIX Sofia <.SOFIX 611.63 612.56 -0.15% +1.69% >

Yield Yield Spread Daily (bid) change vs Bund change in Czech spread Republic
CZ2YT= 2-year <CZ2YT= 5.7060 -0.1470 +318bp -18bps RR RR> s
CZ5YT= 5-year <CZ5YT= 4.9130 0.0440 +276bp -3bps RR RR> s
CZ10YT <CZ10YT 4.4310 -0.0190 +229bp -9bps =RR 10-year =RR> s

Poland
PL2YT= 2-year <PL2YT= 5.7680 -0.0470 +324bp -8bps RR RR> s
PL5YT= 5-year <PL5YT= 5.6020 -0.0340 +345bp -11bps RR RR> s
PL10YT <PL10YT 5.6890 -0.0560 +355bp -13bps =RR 10-year =RR> s

FORWARD

3x6 6x9 9x12 3M interba nk Czech <CZKFRA 7.13 6.87 6.19 7.20 Rep ><PRIBO

R=>

Hungary <HUFFRA 14.51 12.72 11.40 16.05 ><BUBOR

Poland <PLNFRA 6.92 6.74 6.31 6.93 ><WIBOR

Note: are for

FRA ask

quotes prices

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(Reporting by Jason Hovet; Editing by Rashmi Aich)

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CEE MARKETS-Forint keeps momentum, Prague stocks hit 9-month high

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