* Hungarian forint falls after Monday rate meeting
* Zloty supported by expectations of rate hike next week
* Investors eyeing Romanian cbank rate meeting on March 31
BUCHAREST, March 29 (Reuters) - The Hungarian forint fell to
a five-day low against the euro in early trade on Tuesday after
the central bank left rates unchanged the previous day, leading
losses among emerging European currencies.
Hungary's central bank left interest rates at 6 percent as
expected in a unanimous vote attended by three new policymakers
on Monday <NBHI>, and flagged rates would stay on hold for a
sustained period to meet its inflation target. []
The forint <EURHUF=> weakened after Monday's decision but
was trading stable later in the session. On Tuesday, traders
said it was correcting. By 0750 GMT, it was down 0.9 percent on
the day.
"I think it is a correction, profit taking," said one trader
in Budapest. "The ECB is expected to hike interest rates, same
for Poland, the Czech Republic. You cannot expect the forint to
get stronger forever."
Also in Hungary, data showed the three-month rolling
unemployment rate rose to 11.5 percent in December-February,
from 11.2 percent in November-January. []
The Polish zloty <EURPLN=> was virtually unchanged against
the euro and analysts said exchange rate movements should be
limited ahead of the central bank's rate decision next week.
"The zloty might be susceptible to a correction (weakening)
after its recent significant rebound, but the prospects of a
rate hike next week should support the Polish currency in the
next few days," Bank Handlowy wrote in a morning note.
Adam Glapinski of the Monetary Policy Council was quoted by
the PAP state news agency on Monday as saying that a change in
rates in April is "very probable". []
Elsewhere in the region, the Romanian leu <EURRON=> was down
half a percentage point against the single currency as profit
taking continued after the unit hit a one-year high last week
supported by central bank comments. []
Markets are looking forward to a rate-setting meeting on
Thursday and widely expect the bank to keep borrowing costs
unchanged at 6.25 percent.
Stubborn inflation has prompted analysts to revise their
earlier expectations of rate cuts later this year, and most now
expect the central bank to keep rates frozen this year.
The Czech crown <EURCZK=> was flat against the euro,
tracking the region, where mounting worries about Japan's
crippled Fukushima nuclear plant and uncertainty over the impact
of fighting in oil producer Libya prompted some risk aversion.
Stocks in the region were weaker on the day, led by Budapest
<> and Warsaw <>.
--------------------------MARKET SNAPSHOT--------------------
Currency Latest Previous Local Local
close currency currency
change change
today in 2011
Czech crown <EURCZK=> 24.542 24.537 -0.02% +1.87%
Polish zloty <EURPLN=> 3.991 3.993 +0.05% -0.83%
Hungarian forint <EURHUF=> 267.71 265.3 -0.9% +3.84%
Croatian kuna <EURHRK=> 7.383 7.364 -0.26% -0.04%
Romanian leu <EURRON=> 4.122 4.101 -0.51% +2.69%
Serbian dinar <EURRSD=> 103.56 103.453 -0.1% +2.29%
All data taken from Reuters at 0948 CET.
Currency percent change calculated from the daily domestic
close at 1600 GMT.
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(Reporting by Reuters bureaus; Writing by Luiza Ilie; Editing
by Susan Fenton)
