CEE MARKETS-FX slips as dollar firms, CEZ falls

By Alan Charlish WARSAW, Feb 17 (Reuters) - Central European currencies were on the back foot on Friday, as a stronger dollar and an opinion from an adviser to the European Union's top court seen as negative for Polish banks soured sentiment. The dollar rose to a six-week high as strong U.S. economic data and comments from Federal Reserve officials led traders to bet more interest rate rises are coming. Economists at Hungarian Bankholding said the rally in the dollar contributed to a weakening of the Hungarian forint through increased risk aversion and higher interest rate expectations in the United States. At 1044 GMT, the forint was 0.60% weaker against the euro at 385.90. The Polish zloty was broadly stable against the euro at 4.778. The zloty and Polish stocks fell on Thursday after an opinion from an adviser to the European Court of Justice (ECJ) backed Polish borrowers with Swiss franc-denominated mortgages in a long-running case that the country's regulator has warned could cost Polish banks 100 billion zlotys ($22 billion). "In general we expect the zloty to continue to underperform," said Piotr Poplawski, senior economist at ING in Warsaw. "Yesterday's ruling from the ECJ was negative for the Polish banking sector and this in itself is enough to bet against Polish assets." In the Czech Republic, the crown was 0.14% weaker at 23.72.

Meanwhile, shares in Czech utility CEZ fell around 3%, a second day of losses after they touched a six-month high on Wednesday, with investors taking profits and a Citi recommendation to sell also hitting the stock. CEZ had jumped in the past week amid speculation of a potential buyout from the state, which holds 70% of shares. Prime Minister Petr Fiala reiterated on Thursday the government would decide on a plan to take larger control over electricity production in the country some time this year. The government has been mulling ways to restructure CEZ to secure full control over some of its power production and create easier conditions for investments into nuclear power plants that are difficult for privately held companies. CEE SNAPSHO AT

MARKETS T 1144

CET

CURRENC

IES

Latest Previou Daily Change s

bid close change in 2023 EURCZK Czech <EURCZK 23.7200 23.6860 -0.14% +1.85% = crown =>
EURHUF Hungary <EURHUF 385.900 383.600 -0.60% +3.51% = forint => 0 0
EURPLN Polish <EURPLN 4.7780 4.7770 -0.02% -1.85% = zloty =>
EURRON Romanian <EURRON 4.9055 4.8981 -0.15% +0.75% = leu =>
EURHRK Croatian <EURHRK 7.5330 7.5365 +0.05% +0.05% = kuna =>
EURRSD Serbian <EURRSD 117.220 117.305 +0.07% +0.07% = dinar => 0 0

Note: calculated from 1800

daily CET

change

Latest Previou Daily Change s

close change in 2023 .PX Prague 1394.49 1400.55 -0.43% +16.04 00 % .BUX Budapest 45692.4 46039.3 -0.75% +4.34% 3 4
.WIG20 Warsaw <.WIG20 1857.91 1865.51 -0.41% +3.68% >
.BETI Buchares 12355.5 12364.2 -0.07% +5.93% t 5 1
.SBITO Ljubljan <.SBITO 1190.47 1192.58 -0.18% +13.51 P a P> % .CRBEX Zagreb <.CRBEX 2148.94 2151.50 -0.12% +717.8 > 0% .BELEX Belgrade <.BELEX 871.24 869.08 +0.25% +5.65% 15 15>
.SOFIX Sofia <.SOFIX 610.98 605.89 +0.84% +1.58% >

Yield Yield Spread Daily (bid) change vs Bund change in Czech spread Republic
CZ2YT= 2-year <CZ2YT= 5.9020 -0.0330 +297bp -8bps RR RR> s
CZ5YT= 5-year <CZ5YT= 5.1280 0.0100 +254bp -5bps RR RR> s
CZ10YT <CZ10YT 4.8750 0.1370 +235bp +9bps =RR 10-year =RR> s

Poland
PL2YT= 2-year <PL2YT= 6.5440 0.1780 +361bp +13bps RR RR> s
PL5YT= 5-year <PL5YT= 6.5510 0.2020 +396bp +15bps RR RR> s
PL10YT <PL10YT 6.5000 0.1460 +397bp +10bps =RR 10-year =RR> s

FORWARD

3x6 6x9 9x12 3M interba nk Czech <CZKFRA 7.21 7.05 6.60 7.20 Rep ><PRIBO

R=>

Hungary <HUFFRA 15.84 14.38 12.95 16.18 ><BUBOR

Poland <PLNFRA 7.01 6.99 6.74 6.94 ><WIBOR

Note: are for ask

FRA prices

quotes

********************************************

******************
($1 = 4.4837 zlotys) (Reporting by Alan Charlish in Warsaw, Jason Hovet in Prague, Gergely Szakacs in Budapest Editing by Mark Potter)

Reuters

Disclaimer: The views expressed in this article are those of the author and may not reflect those of Kitco Metals Inc. The author has made every effort to ensure accuracy of information provided; however, neither Kitco Metals Inc. nor the author can guarantee such accuracy. This article is strictly for informational purposes only. It is not a solicitation to make any exchange in commodities, securities or other financial instruments. Kitco Metals Inc. and the author of this article do not accept culpability for losses and/ or damages arising from the use of this publication.

off-the-wire

CEE MARKETS-FX slips as dollar firms, CEZ falls

By Reuters

Reuters

Reuters

Gold is never going back to $2,000: 'That's history,' prices to 3x from here – Peter Schiff

‘Biggest economic shift since Nixon’: Major U.S. monetary policy changes coming in 12-36 months – Jack Mallers

Solid price gains for gold, silver after busy news weekend

India joins South Africa in denying BRICS currency plans after Trump’s 100% tariff threat

Silver prices breach $32/oz as bullish technicals and fundamentals suggest potential breakout