UPDATE 1-CEE MARKETS-Forint strongest in a year as rate cut chances fade

(Recasts with forint hitting one-year high) By Alan Charlish WARSAW, April 17 (Reuters) - The Hungarian forint hit a one-year high against the euro on Monday, while the Polish zloty was its strongest in 10 months as sticky inflation in the region dampened expectations of rate cuts. Polish inflation eased less than expected in March, while core inflation continued to rise, statistics office data showed, making markets push back their expectations of rate cuts. In Hungary price growth has remained above 25%, signalling elevated interest rates may stay high longer. The Polish currency also got a boost last week when the country's current account surplus came in well above expectations, helped by strong export growth. "We have some positive domestic arguments, I mean the latest data about current account balance... but also that the character of stubbornly high inflation erased one of the interest rate cuts priced in for this year, which is of course helping the currency," Mateusz Sutowicz, financial market analyst at Bank Millennium, said. At 1136 GMT, the zloty was 0.24% stronger against the euro at 4.628, while the forint was 0.63% firmer at 371.25. "The Hungarian forint is strong today due to the high interest rate Hungary offers... and inflation data published last week means the market does not expect a cut in interest rates at next week's monthly rate meeting," a currency trader in Budapest said. The Hungarian central bank left its quick deposit rate at 18% on Monday. In the Czech Republic, where the central bank has also sought to dampen expectations of quick interest rate cuts, the crown was 0.25% weaker at 23.38. Stocks were mainly higher across the region, with the main indices in Budapest and Warsaw up 0.78% and 0.46%, respectively, while Prague's PX index was little changed. In Warsaw, footwear and apparel retailer CCC rose over 3% after its chief executive said he expects double-digit sales growth this year and improving margins, as easing inflation should give consumers more purchasing power.

CEE SNAPSHO AT

MARKETS T 1336

CET

CURRENC

IES

Latest Previou Daily Change s

bid close change in 2023 EURCZK Czech <EURCZK 23.3800 23.3210 -0.25% +3.33% = crown =>
EURHUF Hungary <EURHUF 371.250 373.600 +0.63% +7.59% = forint => 0 0
EURPLN Polish <EURPLN 4.6280 4.6390 +0.24% +1.33% = zloty =>
EURRON Romanian <EURRON 0.0000 4.9445 #DIV/0! #DIV/0! = leu =>
EURRSD Serbian <EURRSD 117.240 117.300 +0.05% +0.05% = dinar => 0 0

Note: calculated from 1800

daily CET

change

Latest Previou Daily Change s

close change in 2023 .PX Prague 1418.12 1418.37 -0.02% +18.01 00 % .BUX Budapest 43624.7 43285.2 +0.78% -0.39% 3 3
.WIG20 Warsaw <.WIG20 1862.86 1854.27 +0.46% +3.95% >
.BETI Buchares 12459.8 12459.8 +0.00% +6.83% t 5 5
.SBITO Ljubljan <.SBITO 1234.60 1229.53 +0.41% +17.72 P a P> % .BELEX Belgrade <.BELEX 878.88 878.88 +0.00% +6.58% 15 15>
.SOFIX Sofia <.SOFIX 615.55 615.55 +0.00% +2.34% >

Yield Yield Spread Daily (bid) change vs Bund change in Czech spread Republic
CZ2YT= 2-year <CZ2YT= 5.7820 0.0200 +290bp +0bps RR RR> s
CZ5YT= 5-year <CZ5YT= 5.2880 0.0440 +279bp +1bps RR RR> s
CZ10YT <CZ10YT 4.8660 0.0700 +239bp +3bps =RR 10-year =RR> s

Poland
PL2YT= 2-year <PL2YT= 6.1410 -0.0900 +326bp -11bps RR RR> s
PL5YT= 5-year <PL5YT= 6.1440 -0.0070 +365bp -4bps RR RR> s
PL10YT <PL10YT 6.1930 -0.0050 +372bp -5bps =RR 10-year =RR> s

FORWARD

3x6 6x9 9x12 3M interba nk Czech <CZKFRA 7.23 7.03 6.43 7.18 Rep ><PRIBO

R=>

Hungary <HUFFRA 15.60 13.96 12.62 16.31 ><BUBOR

Poland <PLNFRA 6.90 6.81 6.47 6.90 ><WIBOR

Note: are for ask

FRA prices

quotes

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

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(Reporting by Alan Charlish in Warsaw and Boldizsar Gyori in Budapest; Editing by Shounak Dasgupta and Shilpi Majumdar)

Reuters

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UPDATE 1-CEE MARKETS-Forint strongest in a year as rate cut chances fade

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