Credit: REUTERS/Peter AndrewsBy Alan Charlish
April 23 (Reuters) - Central European currencies were looking for a direction on Friday in thin trade, with the Polish zloty EURPLN= slipping slightly despite a recent raft of positive economic data as investors' focus turned to upcoming risks regarding FX loans.
On Thursday, the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) will rule on questions concerning claims banks may be able to make from clients if foreign currency mortgage contracts are cancelled, an issue which could result in major losses for the banking sector.
Thousands of Polish borrowers took out franc loans more than a decade ago to take advantage of low Swiss interest rates but then faced ballooning repayments when the zloty weakened sharply against the Swiss currency.
"The deterioration of market sentiment is the easiest way to explain the weakening of the zloty, but it may also mask the gradual attempts to build a position for next week's ruling of the CJEU on Swiss franc loans," Konrad Bialas, chief economist at TMS Brokers wrote in a note.
"Despite the sleepy stabilisation of the zloty in recent days, it should not be forgotten that there is a serious risk factor ahead of us."
At 0857 GMT the zloty was 0.07% weaker against the euro at 4.5645. The Czech crown EURCZK= was 0.14% weaker at 25.885, amid a diplomatic storm with Russia.
The Czech Republic on Thursday ordered Russia to remove most of its remaining diplomatic staff from Prague in an escalation of the worst dispute between the two countries in decades.
The Hungarian forint EURHUF= firmed 0.11% to 363.30 against the common currency. "There is still room for the euro-forint rate to rise, the next important resistance level is at 365, which could be within reach soon," brokerage Equilor wrote.
Stocks across the region fell in line with global peers, amid worries over reports that U.S. President Joe Biden planned to raise income taxes on the wealthy. The main indices in Prague .PX, Budapest .BUX and Warsaw fell 0.11-0.64%
In Poland, 10-year yields PL10YT=RR were one basis point lower at 1.568% ahead of a finance ministry auction at which it was expected to sell bonds worth 5-7 billion zlotys.
CEE MARKETS
SNAPSHOT
AT 1057 CET
CURRENCIES
Latest
Previous
Daily
Change
bid
close
change
in 2021
EURCZK=
Czech crown
EURCZK=
25.8850
25.8500
-0.14%
+1.33%
EURHUF=
Hungary forint
EURHUF=
363.3000
363.7000
+0.11%
-0.16%
EURPLN=
Polish zloty
EURPLN=
4.5645
4.5615
-0.07%
-0.12%
EURRON=
Romanian leu
EURRON=
4.9250
4.9256
+0.01%
-1.22%
EURHRK=
Croatian kuna
EURHRK=
7.5710
7.5735
+0.03%
-0.31%
EURRSD=
Serbian dinar
EURRSD=
117.4600
117.5500
+0.08%
+0.09%
Note: daily change
calculated from
1800 CET
Latest
Previous
Daily
Change
close
change
in 2021
.PX
Prague
.PX
1091.18
1092.3300
-0.11%
+6.23%
.BUX
Budapest
.BUX
42762.53
42906.48
-0.34%
+1.56%
.WIG20
Warsaw
.WIG20
1977.06
1989.73
-0.64%
-0.35%
.BETI
Bucharest
.BETI
11173.50
11129.98
+0.39%
+13.95%
.SBITOP
Ljubljana
.SBITOP
1054.60
1049.47
+0.49%
+17.07%
.CRBEX
Zagreb
.CRBEX
1885.27
1883.42
+0.10%
+8.39%
.BELEX15
Belgrade
.BELEX15
770.30
777.13
-0.88%
+2.90%
.SOFIX
Sofia
.SOFIX
517.56
519.18
-0.31%
+15.65%
Yield
Yield
Spread
Daily
(bid)
change
vs Bund
change in
Czech Republic
spread
CZ2YT=RR
2-year
CZ2YT=RR
0.6730
0.0060
+137bps
+1bps
CZ5YT=RR
5-year
CZ5YT=RR
1.3530
-0.0900
+196bps
-8bps
CZ10YT=RR
10-year
CZ10YT=RR
1.7810
-0.0650
+205bps
-6bps
Poland
PL2YT=RR
2-year
PL2YT=RR
0.1170
0.0000
+081bps
+1bps
PL5YT=RR
5-year
PL5YT=RR
0.9270
-0.0010
+153bps
+1bps
PL10YT=RR
10-year
PL10YT=RR
1.5680
-0.0120
+183bps
+0bps
FORWARD
3x6
6x9
9x12
3M interbank
Czech Rep
CZKFRAPRIBOR=
0.45
0.70
1.05
0.36
Hungary
HUFFRABUBOR=
0.97
1.14
1.30
0.79
Poland
PLNFRAWIBOR=
0.24
0.25
0.37
0.21
Note: FRA quotes
are for ask prices
**************************************************************
(Reporting by Alan Charlish in Warsaw and Anita Komuves in Budapest; Editing by Shailesh Kuber)
The views and opinions expressed herein are the views and opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of Nasdaq, Inc.
