CEE MARKETS-Currencies edge lower as markets eye Ukraine-Russia war and Fed messages
BUDAPEST, Aug 20 (Reuters) - The Polish zloty and the Czech crown eased on Wednesday as the dollar firmed and markets focussed on news about the Ukraine-Russia war and turned their attention towards the U.S. Federal Reserve's Jackson Hole symposium this week.
The U.S. dollar gained for a third straight session on Wednesday against the euro and sterling as traders awaited the Fed's symposium for clues on the monetary policy path.
Friday's speech by Fed Chair Jerome Powell is the market's main focus, as traders watch for any pushback against market pricing of a rate reduction next month.
PKO Bank said in a note that European investors will also monitor efforts to end the war in Ukraine, particularly signs from Moscow that a meeting between Vladimir Putin and Volodymyr Zelenskiy will take place.
"Such signals could support further appreciation of the zloty and lead to a breakout of the support level of 4.24 EUR/PLN, which would pave the way for a move towards the 4.23-4.22 zone," it said.
The Polish zloty EURPLN= slid 0.16% to trade at 4.2515 per euro, while the Czech crown EURCZK= edged down 0.11% to 24.481 against the euro and the Romanian EURRON= leu was stable.
On Tuesday, U.S. President Donald Trump said that he had ruled out putting U.S. troops on the ground in Ukraine, but said the United States might provide air support as part of a deal to end Russia's war in the country.
Trump's comments follow his offer of security guarantees to help end the war made at an extraordinary White House summit on Monday.
Stock markets in the region were mixed, with Prague's equities .PX edging down 0.03% and Warsaw's blue chip index .WIG20 losing 0.19%. Bucharest's stocks .BETI were 0.7% up.
Markets in Budapest were closed for a national holiday.
CEE MARKETS SNAPSHOT AT 1051 CET | |||||
CURRENCIES | Latest trade | Previous close | Daily change | Change in 2025 | |
Czech crown | EURCZK= | 24.4810 | 24.4540 | -0.11% | +2.97% |
Hungary forint | EURHUF= | 394.7500 | 393.7500 | -0.25% | +4.22% |
Polish zloty | EURPLN= | 4.2515 | 4.2445 | -0.16% | +0.60% |
Romanian leu | EURRON= | 5.0580 | 5.0585 | +0.01% | -1.61% |
Serbian dinar | EURRSD= | 117.1100 | 117.1800 | +0.06% | -0.14% |
Note: daily change calculated from 1800 CET | |||||
| |||||
STOCKS | Latest | Previous close | Daily change | Change in 2025 | |
Prague | .PX | 2316.91 | 2317.5100 | -0.03% | +31.63% |
Budapest | .BUX | 106542.74 | 106542.74 | +0.00% | +34.31% |
Warsaw | .WIG20 | 2987.43 | 2993.07 | -0.19% | +36.29% |
Bucharest | .BETI | 20760.57 | 20617.17 | +0.70% | +24.16% |
| |||||
BONDS | Yield (bid) | Yield change | Spread vs Bund | Daily change in spread | |
Czech Rep 2-year | CZ2YT=RR | 3.4160 | -0.0090 | +147bps | +0bps |
Czech Rep 5-year | CZ5YT=RR | 3.8380 | -0.0110 | +155bps | +1bps |
Czech Rep 10-year | CZ10YT=RR | 4.3020 | -0.0130 | +157bps | +1bps |
Poland 2-year | PL2YT=RR | 4.3110 | 0.0590 | +236bps | +7bps |
Poland 5-year | PL5YT=RR | 4.8380 | -0.0020 | +255bps | +2bps |
Poland 10-year | PL10YT=RR | 5.4200 | -0.0120 | +269bps | +1bps |
| |||||
FORWARD RATE AGREEMENTS | 3x6 | 6x9 | 9x12 | 3M interbank | |
Czech Rep | CZKFRA, PRIBOR= | 3.53 | 3.52 | 3.50 | 3.50 |
Poland | PLNFRA, WIBOR= | 4.39 | 4.04 | 3.73 | 4.88 |
Note: FRA quotes are for ask prices | |||||
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