* Govt backs off Greece comments
* Stocks under pressure but off lows; forint, bonds rebound
* Romania cuts debt sale, markets still wary of spillover
(Adds Romania debt sale, updates prices)
By Jason Hovet
PRAGUE, June 7 (Reuters) - The forint bounced off a one-year
low and Hungarian bond prices rose on Monday after the
government rushed to calm market fears of a Greek-style crisis
which had sent ripples through global assets late last week.
Hungary's leading bank OTP <OTPB.BU> recovered a more than
10 percent early plunge to end nearly flat on the day, but
stocks remained under pressure amid reports the government
planned a new bank tax to raise revenues. []
The forint <EURHUF=> jumped 1.2 percent from Friday's local
close to bid at 284.48 per euro by 1533 GMT.
Budapest vowed on Monday to keep its budget deficit as close
as possible to a target of 3.8 percent of GDP agreed with
lenders, including the International Monetary Fund and EU, by
cutting spending while at the same time lowering taxes.
The pledges were enough to give respite to markets pounded
last week when officials from the ruling centre-right Fidesz
said the budget outlook was worse than thought and suggested the
country was close to a Greek-style meltdown. []
Markets remained on edge, however. Analysts said that while
Hungary's debt situation was not like Greece, the country faces
problems including a large amount of foreign currency loans and
a tough task in convincing markets it can manage its debt.
"As long as the IMF and the EU are on board, there are no
funding pressures. As long as they do not do anything foolish
like cut taxes, they are fine," said Edwin Gutierrez, emerging
debt fund manager at Aberdeen Asset Management in London.
Economy Minister Gyorgy Matolcsy however reiterated on
Monday that the government planned to cut taxes.
Hungarian bond yields dropped 20-30 basis points from
morning levels, with the yield on the three-year bond off a
five-month high and long-end yields down from nine-month peaks.
Stocks <> closed down less than 1 percent, paring an
earlier 5 percent drop to a near four-month low.
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For the latest stories out of Hungary, click []
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WATCHING THE BANKS
Moody's said on Monday that last week's comments by
Hungarian officials about the country's fiscal situation were
negative for Hungarian credit as they brought renewed attention
to the country's high debt.
It added that the government's apparent willingness to
explore unorthadox ways of funding the budget gap were cause for
concern. []
Online news portal Index reported that one fundraising
option being considered is the introduction of a special tax on
banks. That hit Budapest shares. []
Erste Group Bank <ERST.VI>, one of the largest lenders in
central Europe, also dropped 3.5 percent. Prague stocks <>
lost 1.8 percent and Bucharest <> was down 1.3 percent.
But currencies rebounded with the forint. The Polish zloty
<EURPLN=> gained 0.6 percent, tracking the forint higher.
The Romanian leu <EURRON=>, however, lost 0.6 percent while
the Czech crown <EURCZK=> fell on profit-taking, erasing gains
triggered after Fitch raised its outlook on its Czech rating on
Friday. []
Concerns about Hungary's fiscal situation have raised
contagion fears that analysts say will not likely be realised.
However, fellow IMF-aid receiver Romania rejected all bids
at a debt sale for the third time in a month on Monday,
increasing doubts about efforts to cut public spending and
ensure aid flows to kick-start its economy. []
Hungary concerns have also kept up pressure on central
Europe's reference currency the euro <EUR=> which hit its lowest
level in more than four years on Monday. Oil prices fell earlier
in the day and worries about Hungary sent the yield on Germany's
10-year Bund, seen as a safe haven, to a record low.
Analysts were split on whether the forint could bounce back
any time soon. []
Hungary was forced to seek a $25 billion international aid
package at the start of the financial crisis in October 2008.
Commerzbank said on Monday it would be difficult to get funding
without aid after CDS prices jumped above 400 bps.
"The risk of a renewed debt crisis has risen and as a result
a recovery of the forint is unlikely," its analysts said.
--------------------------MARKET SNAPSHOT--------------------
Currency Latest Previous Local Local
close currency currency
change change
today in 2010
Czech crown <EURCZK=> 26.018 25.96 -0.22% +1.15%
Polish zloty <EURPLN=> 4.152 4.176 +0.58% -1.16%
Hungarian forint <EURHUF=> 284.48 287.86 +1.19% -4.97%
Croatian kuna <EURHRK=> 7.253 7.259 +0.08% +0.77%
Romanian leu <EURRON=> 4.237 4.213 -0.57% +0.01%
Serbian dinar <EURRSD=> 103.357 102.94 -0.4% -7.23%
Yield Spreads
Czech treasury bonds <0#CZBMK=>
2-yr T-bond CZ2YT=RR +4 basis points to 165bps over bmk*
7-yr T-bond CZ7YT=RR +1 basis points to +171bps over bmk*
10-yr T-bond CZ9YT=RR +1 basis points to +172bps over bmk*
Polish treasury bonds <0#PLBMK=>
2-yr T-bond PL2YT=RR -4 basis points to +418bps over bmk*
5-yr T-bond PL5YT=RR -3 basis points to +389bps over bmk*
10-yr T-bond PL10YT=RR 0 basis points to +327bps over bmk*
Hungarian treasury bonds <0#HUBMK=>
3-yr T-bond HU3YT=RR -17 basis points to +630bps over bmk*
5-yr T-bond HU5YT=RR -24 basis points to +607bps over bmk*
10-yr T-bond HU10YT=RR -19 basis points to +534bps over bmk*
*Benchmark is German bond equivalent.
All data taken from Reuters at 1734 CET.
Currency percent change calculated from the daily domestic
close at 1600 GMT.
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(Additional reporting by Carolyn Cohn in London)
(Reporting by Reuters bureaus, writing by Jason Hovet; Editing
by Toby Chopra, Susan Fenton and Jason Webb)
