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Hungary's forint off 0.2% ahead of c.bank meeting
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China, HK stocks drop on economic recovery doubts
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Russian rouble up with tax revenue in focus
By Bansari Mayur Kamdar April 24 (Reuters) - Currencies in emerging markets slipped on Monday, as the dollar firmed ahead of a slew of central bank policy meetings, while the Hungarian forint inched down ahead of an eagerly awaited policy decision by the National Bank of Hungary this week. The forint slipped 0.2% against the euro, following a rough week as the central bank deputy governor flagged a cut in the top of its interest rate corridor. The National Bank of Hungary is expected to leave its base rate steady at 13% at Tuesday's policy meeting. "The market will be particularly sensitive to any comments when the 1-day overnight deposit rate at 18% could be adjusted. This rate has been the main pillar supporting bullish sentiment towards the forint since October, said Piotr Matys, senior FX analyst at In Touch Capital Markets. Other central and eastern European currencies edged up, with the Polish zloty adding 0.1% against the euro. Data showed Polish producer prices fell more than expected in March, but separate figures showing greater-than-expected drop in industrial output and weaker-than-expected retail sales last month weighed on the mood. "The majority of the MPC (Monetary Policy Committee) may focus on weak retail sales to argue against raising interest rates," Matys said. "Sharp deceleration in PPI is also an argument in favour of stable policy rate at 6.75%."
Overall, the MSCI's index for emerging market currencies eased 0.1% as the U.S. dollar firmed, with markets focused on the Bank of Japan's policy meeting this week and the Federal Reserve and European Central Bank's rate decisions next week. South Africa's rand slipped 0.2% against the greenback, while the Turkish lira was flat.
The Russian rouble firmed to 81.32 against
the dollar, as the prospect of favourable tax payments this week
outweighed concerns about lower oil prices and a general
negative outlook ahead of Friday's central bank rate decision.
Emerging market stocks shed 0.4%, falling for
their fifth straight session.
China's blue-chip CSI300 Index fell 1.2%, leading
sharp losses among China and Hong Kong stocks amid lingering
concern about unsteady economic recovery in the world's
second-largest economy.
In Latin America, Argentine President Alberto Fernandez
announced he will not run in the country's October general
election, throwing open a race to lead the Peronist coalition at
the ballot .
S&P revised Egypt's outlook to negative on external
financing risks and affirmed 'B/B' ratings.
Fitch Ratings downgraded Ghana's long-term local-currency
(LTLC) issuer default rating to 'RD' from 'CCC'.
(Reporting by Bansari Mayur Kamdar in Bengaluru; Editing by
Sonia Cheema)
