(Recasts with new prices, comments)
By Marius Zaharia and Sandor Peto
BUDAPEST/BUCHAREST, Dec 30 (Reuters) - Central European
currencies hovered around Monday's closing levels on Tuesday in
thin and volatile trade.
Poland's zloty <EURPLN=> partially recovered from earlier
deep losses by late trade, and Romania's leu <EURRON=> posted
strong gains as investors booked profits after the unit's plunge
in the previous session.
Dealers said technical factors distorted market movements in
the last but one session of the year.
It remains uncertain whether 2009 will begin with a rebound
or the continuation of the past months' falls caused by the
global financial crisis, concern over recession in the region's
main export markets and central bank interest rate cuts.
"People have prepared themselves that there will be plenty
of bad economic figures next year, but I don't think that the
region's markets could fall much further based on fundamentals,"
one Budapest-based dealer said.
"I'm pessimistic," another trader said.
At 1504 GMT, the leu traded at 4.012 per euro, 1.91 percent
up from the previous close. On Monday, it hit a four-year low of
4.098 on concerns over Romania's bloated budget, trade deficits
and hard currency demand from importers.
The zloty was weaker by 0.29 percent at 4.145, but off
3-1/2-year lows beyond 4.2 hit on Monday when derivatives
barriers were broken. The currency moved in a wide range between
4.11 and 4.17, mainly on foreign activity.
"Low activity causes strong volatility of the zloty today.
Foreign investors' activity on the derivatives market is crucial
today," said Lukasz Wojtkowiak, an FX analyst at Millennium.
Poland's updated euro convergence programme approved by the
government on Tuesday kept an ambitious target to enter the euro
zone in 2012.[]
Hungary's forint <EURHUF=> gave up early gains and eased
0.26 percent to 267.29 against the euro, but dealers said it
could remain less jittery than the leu or the zloty in the short
term. The Czech crown <EURCZK=> shed 0.31 percent to 26.66.
The Croatian kuna <EURHRK=> edged up 0.24 percent to 7.329
to the euro, recovering early losses after data showed the
economy grew 1.6 percent in the third quarter [].
In Serbia, where the central bank intervened again, selling
almost 100 million euros on Monday and Tuesday, the battered
dinar <EURRSD=> continued its downtrend, shedding 1.6 percent to
trade at 89.04 per euro.
Figures released on Tuesday showed that the Serbian economy
grew by an annual 4.9 percent in the third quarter, less than
official expectations for seven percent [], while
annual inflation slowed to 6.8 percent in December from 9.2
percent in November[].
----------------------MARKET SNAPSHOT-------------------------
Currency Latest Previous Local Local
close currency currency
change change
today in 2008
Czech crown <EURCZK=> 26.66 26.577 -0.31% -0.62%
Polish zloty <EURPLN=> 4.145 4.133 -0.29% -15.12%
Hungarian forint <EURHUF=> 267.29 266.59 -0.26% -5.71%
Croatian kuna <EURHRK=> 7.329 7.347 +0.24% -0.03%
Romanian leu <EURRON=> 4.012 4.09 +1.91% -12.06%
Serbian dinar <EURRSD=> 89.04 87.64 -1.6% -13.05%
Yield Spreads
Czech treasury bonds <0#CZBMK=>
3-yr T-bond CZ3YT=RR -28 basis points to +155bps over bmk*
5-yr T-bond CZ5YT=RR +7 basis points to +159bps over bmk*
10-yr T-bond CZ9YT=RR -13 basis points to +120bps over bmk*
Hungarian treasury bonds <0#HUBMK=>
3-yr T-bond HU3YT=RR -51 basis points to +776bps over bmk*
5-yr T-bond HU5YT=RR -58 basis points to +718bps over bmk*
10-yr T-bond HU10YT=RR +1 basis points to +546bps over bmk*
*Benchmark is German bond equivalent.
All data taken from Reuters at 1604 CET.
Currency percent change calculated from the daily domestic
close at 1500 GMT.
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(Reporting by Reuters bureaus, writing by Marius Zaharia;
Editing by Ruth Pitchford)
