* FX up on Greek debt rescue
* Hungary sells 50 billion forints of bonds, paper up
* Czechs eye foreign issues, but not "imminently"
(Updates throughout)
By Marius Zaharia and Dagmara Leszkowicz
BUCHAREST/WARSAW, Feb 11 (Reuters) - Central European
currencies firmed on Thursday, with Poland's zloty leading gains
after European Union leaders agreed to help debt-troubled
Greece.
"(The aid) diminished the risk of Greek or Portugal default,
thus boosting more risky assets like CEE currencies," said
Lukasz Wojtkowiak, FX analyst at Millennium bank in Warsaw.
"Even though the units lost their previous steam from earlier
afternoon, there's still appetite seen for them here."
By 1508 the zloty <EURPLN=> gained 0.8 percent to 4.029,
while the Czech crown <EURCZK=> added 0.3 percent. Romania's leu
<EURRON=> and the Hungarian forint <EURHUF=> both eked out
marginal gains.
Fears over some of the euro zone's highly-indebted southern
states have dented appetite for riskier assets, pushing the
region's currencies off peaks reached at the start of February.
Some market watchers expect regional assets to return to
more substantial gains once the Greek problems are tamed, but
there are risks ahead from elections this year and rising debt
levels, as well as the prospect that Portugal or others may yet
see similar problems.
Among currencies, analysts favour the zloty, which benefits
from Poland's stronger growth outlook and the leu, which has to
catch up with its peers after lagging in a rally in the second
half of last year.
A Reuters poll on Thursday showed analysts believe a strong
government formed by main opposition party Fidesz would be best
for Hungary's economy after April elections. For more on the
poll, click on: [] [].
BONDS MIXED
Polish bonds were stronger on Thursday, with yields falling
some 3-4 basis points across the curve.
Hungary's bonds also gained, supported by a successful bond
tender, where the country's finance ministry sold 50 billion
zlotys of 3-, 5- and 10-year bonds. []
Elsewhere, Czech bonds were mixed, with the market largely
unmoved by Finance Minister Eduard Janota's comments that the a
eurobond issue was being considered but not imminent.
[]
The Czechs cut supply at Wednesday's 15-year bond auction in
half due a jump in the yield demanded by investors, prompting
speculation that it would shortly turn to eurobond markets
instead. [] <CNB08>
--------------------------MARKET SNAPSHOT--------------------
Currency Latest Previous Local Local
close currency currency
change change
today in 2009
Czech crown <EURCZK=> 26.013 26.078 +0.25% +1.17%
Polish zloty <EURPLN=> 4.029 4.06 +0.77% +1.86%
Hungarian forint <EURHUF=> 271.15 271.23 +0.03% -0.3%
Croatian kuna <EURHRK=> 7.31 7.321 +0.15% -0.01%
Romanian leu <EURRON=> 4.11 4.111 +0.02% +3.1%
Serbian dinar <EURRSD=> 98.5 98.54 +0.04% -2.66%
Yield Spreads
Czech treasury bonds <0#CZBMK=>
3-yr T-bond CZ3YT=RR -11 basis points to 91bps over bmk*
7-yr T-bond CZ7YT=RR +3 basis points to +139bps over bmk*
10-yr T-bond CZ10YT=RR -1 basis points to +127bps over
bmk*
Polish treasury bonds <0#PLBMK=>
2-yr T-bond PL2YT=RR +1 basis points to +386bps over bmk*
5-yr T-bond PL5YT=RR -2 basis points to +323bps over bmk*
10-yr T-bond PL10YT=RR -2 basis points to +287bps over bmk*
Hungarian treasury bonds <0#HUBMK=>
3-yr T-bond HU3YT=RR -3 basis points to +547bps over bmk*
5-yr T-bond HU5YT=RR -2 basis points to +506bps over bmk*
10-yr T-bond HU10YT=RR -1 basis points to +457bps over bmk*
*Benchmark is German bond equivalent.
All data taken from Reuters at 1508 CET.
Currency percent change calculated from the daily domestic
close at 1700 GMT.
For related news and prices, click on the codes in brackets: All
emerging market news []
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(Reporting by Reuters bureaus, writing by Marius Zaharia and
Dagmara Leszkowicz, editing by Patrick Graham)
