PRAGUE, Jan 28 (Reuters) - Emerging European currencies
picked up on Thursday as investors returned to riskier assets,
while debt markets were quiet ahead of Hungary's second bond
issue this week.
The Hungarian forint <EURHUF=> was up 0.3 percent at 271.96
to the euro <EUR=> by 0835 GMT, recouping losses from Wednesday.
Along with other emerging European currencies, it benefited from
rising risk appetite globally after U.S. President Barack Obama
laid out plans to revive the world's largest economy.
[].
"Yesterday the forint bounced off the 200-day moving average
which is 273.80, so it will remain in a range," a dealer said.
The Polish zloty <EURPLN=> was up 0.6 percent at 4.069 to
the euro as Prime Minister Donald Tusk told the Financial Times
that Poland plans to limit growth in discretionary public
spending to 1 percent annually as part of a long-awaited fiscal
rescue plan.
Poland would reach the 3 percent of GDP deficit level
required to join the euro by 2013, he said, but did not give a
date for adopting the currency. []
The Czech crown <EURCZK=> was flat.
A rally in Central European currencies at the start of the
year, however, has sputtered and currencies are expected to
remain shaky over the coming months as upcoming elections raise
uncertainty over fiscal policy and central bank rate cuts weigh
on the forint and the Romanian leu <EURRON=>, according to a
Reuters poll. <CEEFXPOLL09>
Debt markets were quiet as all eyes were on a domestic bond
issue by Hungary.
The country's domestic debt agency will auction 50 billion
forints worth of bonds due in 2013, 2015 and 2019 on Thursday.
However, analysts said demand may be disappointing as investors
had already bought into Budapest's $2 billion 10-year bond issue
on Tuesday. The issue, Hungary's first dollar issue since 2005,
was snapped up, mainly by U.S. investors.
The bond issues signal Budapest's plans to come off aid
from the International Monetary Fund this year although further
issues are expected to be domestic not dollar-denominated.
Hungary, which escaped financial meltdown in October 2008
only with the help of IMF and European Union aid, has said it
would not tap more of the $25.1 billion package provided by the
IMF, the EU and the World Bank, beyond 12.8 billion euros
already drawn and some 3 billion euros placed already at the
central bank.
In Romania, the leu <EURRON=> was steady at 4.119 to the
euro but underpinned by IMF plans, announced on Wednesday, to
unlock the country's 20 billion euro aid package.
The IMF opened the way for Romania to receive a 3.3 billion
euro slice of its loan package after elections ended a political
impasse and the country approved a cost-cutting 2010 budget.
[]
--------------------------MARKET SNAPSHOT--------------------
Currency Latest Previous Local Local
close currency currency
change change
today in 2010
Czech crown <EURCZK=> 26.108 26.165 +0.22% +0.8%
Polish zloty <EURPLN=> 4.069 4.092 +0.57% +0.86%
Hungarian forint <EURHUF=> 271.96 272.74 +0.29% -0.59%
Croatian kuna <EURHRK=> 7.318 7.322 +0.05% -0.12%
Romanian leu <EURRON=> 4.119 4.128 +0.22% +2.87%
Serbian dinar <EURRSD=> 98.27 97.94 -0.34% -2.43%
All data taken from Reuters at 0935 CET.
Currency percent change calculated from the daily domestic
close at 1700 GMT.
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(Reporting by Reuters bureaus, writing by Jason Hovet; Editing
by Susan Fenton)
