CEE MARKETS-Forint set for sixth weekly gain as FX firmer

PRAGUE, Feb 24 (Reuters) - Hungary's forint eyed its best growth stretch since 2021 on Friday, while other central European currencies mostly drifted, holding onto recent gains. Stock indices were down with the exception of Prague, although the forint was the main mover, rising 0.2% to 380.20 to the euro by 1028 GMT, putting it on course for a sixth weekly gain. "All eyes will be on the Hungarian central bank in March, on whether it will indicate the normalization of interest rates, given that the market development has been supportive since the beginning of the year," Erste Group Bank said. The forint has been supported by the European Union's highest interest rates, with the central bank's base rate at 13%, along with hopes of European Union funds being unlocked from a rule-of-law dispute with Brussels. The currency has gained over 5% so far in 2023, and is comfortably away from all-time lows of last October at above 430 to the euro. In Poland, the zloty gained for a third straight day, rising a touch 4.725 to the euro, and touching its highest in over two weeks earlier in the morning. "The zloty... has exhausted its appreciation potential in the face of lack of new arguments and persistence of domestic risks, including delays in the National Recovery Plan," Bank Millennium said. Poland's efforts to access billions of euros of EU recovery money suffered a setback earlier this month, when President Andrzej Duda referred a key judicial reform bill to a constitutional tribunal for review. That is keeping pressure on the zloty, the region's only currency trading down so far in 2023. The Czech crown , meanwhile, is sticking near 14-year highs, helped by easing energy prices and a safe-haven status in the region as the central bank has pledged to intervene to prevent sharp weakening, although the bank has stayed out of markets in recent months, according to its latest statistics. On stock markets, Prague rose and was trading just below a one-year high, held up by banking stocks. Czech utility CEZ , whose shares have jumped as investors await details of a potential buyout by the state, the majority shareholder. CEZ shares were steady, trading above 1,000 crowns. CEE SNAPSHO AT

MARKETS T 1128

CET

CURRENC

IES

Latest Previou Daily Change s

bid close change in 2023 EURCZK Czech <EURCZK 23.6480 23.6620 +0.06% +2.16% = crown =>
EURHUF Hungary <EURHUF 380.200 380.800 +0.16% +5.06% = forint => 0 0
EURPLN Polish <EURPLN 4.7250 4.7275 +0.05% -0.75% = zloty =>
EURRON Romanian <EURRON 4.9180 4.9199 +0.04% +0.50% = leu =>
EURHRK Croatian <EURHRK 7.5330 7.5365 +0.05% +0.05% = kuna =>
EURRSD Serbian <EURRSD 117.230 117.330 +0.09% +0.06% = dinar => 0 0

Note: calcula 1800

daily ted CET

change from

Latest Previou Daily Change s

close change in 2023 .PX Prague 1390.84 1388.55 +0.16% +15.74 00 % .BUX Budapest 45376.5 45388.9 -0.03% +3.61% 5 4
.WIG20 Warsaw <.WIG20 1820.42 1824.76 -0.24% +1.59% >
.BETI Buchares 12333.1 12335.7 -0.02% +5.74% t 5 8
.SBITO Ljubljan <.SBITO 1213.35 1207.18 +0.51% +15.69 P a P> % .BELEX Belgrade <.BELEX 880.28 882.70 -0.27% +6.75% 15 15>
.SOFIX Sofia <.SOFIX 617.42 617.55 -0.02% +2.65% >

Yield Yield Spread Daily (bid) change vs Bund change in Czech spread Republic
CZ2YT= 2-year <CZ2YT= 5.8380 -0.1710 +292bp -19bps RR RR> s
CZ5YT= 5-year <CZ5YT= 5.1460 -0.0480 +260bp -6bps RR RR> s
CZ10YT <CZ10YT 4.8150 0.0000 +234bp +0bps =RR 10-year =RR> s

Poland
PL2YT= 2-year <PL2YT= 6.2670 -0.2220 +335bp -24bps RR RR> s
PL5YT= 5-year <PL5YT= 6.4160 -0.1380 +387bp -15bps RR RR> s
PL10YT <PL10YT 6.4990 -0.0920 +402bp -9bps =RR 10-year =RR> s

FORWARD

3x6 6x9 9x12 3M interba nk Czech <CZKFRA 7.21 7.03 6.47 7.21 Rep ><PRIBO

R=>

Hungary <HUFFRA 15.08 13.58 12.18 16.30 ><BUBOR

=>

Poland <PLNFRA 6.97 6.97 6.65 6.94 ><WIBOR

=>

Note: are for

FRA ask

quotes prices

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(Reporting by Jason Hovet in Prague, Anna Koper in Warsaw, and Gergely Szakacs in Budapest; Editing by Varun H K)

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