WARSAW, Dec 9 (Reuters) - Emerging Europe's currencies and
stocks were mostly higher on Thursday, lifted by euro gains
versus the dollar as markets shrugged off final GDP readings
that were broadly in line with preliminary forecasts.
The Czech economy expanded by 1.0 percent on a quarterly
basis in the third quarter, a touch below the preliminary
estimate, while Hungary's year-on-year growth stood at 1.7
percent in the same period, a touch above the flash estimate.
[] []
"The higher (Hungarian) GDP reading is not too surprising as
better than expected retail sales data already foreshadowed a
slight pickup in domestic consumption," said Gergely Suppan,
analyst at Takarekbank. "The growth is marginal and it's
vulnerable, but it's there and it is likely to continue."
The euro -- the region's main reference currency -- jumped
0.6 percent against the greenback as market sentiment improved
globally on hopes that a deal in Washington to extend tax cuts
will give a near-term boost to U.S. economic growth.
Stocks across the region opened in the black, with Prague's
PX exchange <> leading gains, rising some 1.2 percent.
By 0836 GMT the forint <EURHUF=> was some 0.4 percent
stronger against the common currency, while the Czech crown
<EURCZK=> inched 0.1 percent lower. Romania's leu <EURRON=> was
little changed.
The Polish zloty <EURPLN=> recouped all of Wednesday sharp
losses and was hovering at around 4.03 against the euro in early
trade.
The Polish currency has swung back and forth since the start
December, from multi-month lows of almost 4.11 to around 4.0 as
worries over the euro zone debt crisis have dominated sentiment.
Some analysts expect the Polish currency to appreciate
further. Goldman Sachs revised its forecast, saying it expected
a rise to 3.82 in the next 12 months due to the country's solid
fundamentals, privatisation inflows and prospective interest
rate increases.
"The current weakness reflects uncertainty over the
euro zone's fiscal woes; as these are addressed the zloty should
strengthen and return to a long-term appreciation trend,"
Goldman Sachs wrote in a note.
A member of the central bank's Monetary Policy Council,
Andrzej Bratkowski, told the Bloomberg agency that the MPC
should raise interest rates in the next three months.
[]
The key Polish rate has stood at a record low of 3.5 percent
for the past 17 months.
--------------------------MARKET SNAPSHOT--------------------
Currency Latest Previous Local Local
close currency currency
change change
today in 2010
Czech crown <EURCZK=> 25.062 25.033 -0.12% +5.01%
Polish zloty <EURPLN=> 4.03 4.038 +0.2% +1.84%
Hungarian forint <EURHUF=> 276.77 277.73 +0.35% -2.32%
Croatian kuna <EURHRK=> 7.383 7.383 0% -1%
Romanian leu <EURRON=> 4.296 4.297 +0.02% -1.36%
Serbian dinar <EURRSD=> 107.1 107.3 +0.19% -10.48%
All data taken from Reuters at 0937 CET.
Currency percent change calculated from the daily domestic
close at 1600 GMT.
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(Reporting by Reuters bureaus, Writing by Dagmara
Leszkowicz; Editing by John Stonestreet)
