Economy 27 December 2017, 2:01pm

Hungary forint firming in typical quiet post-Christmas trade

Portfolio

Quotations for the Hungarian forint have shown major fluctuations so far in the last few days of 2017, as usual during the quiet trading days at the end of each year. In any case, the closing EUR/HUF rate will be revealed in a short time, at noon on Friday.

1:51 p.m. Another wave of forint firming

The EUR/HUF rate weakened significantly to 310.73 by the early afternoon on Wednesday, down 0.4% from Tuesday evening quotes. Meanwhile, the Polish zloty has firmed 0.25%, as opposed to the Czech koruna, which lost 0.35% vs. the euro.

9:11 a.m. Forint a hot commodity in post-Christmas trade

The forint has gained strength on Wednesday morning, the EUR/HUF rate is down to 311.3 - some 0.24% below Tuesday evening quotes.

8:23 a.m. Could we please have EUR/HUF at 310 once again in 2017?

The Hungarian currency was trading at 311.8 vs. the euro on Wednesday morning, down 0.1% overnight. The second half of Tuesday trade saw noticeable weakening for the forint, with the EUR/HUF rate up roughly one unit to 312.1 from 311.1 earlier in the day. However, even the higher Tuesday afternoon quotes represent considerable firming compared to the level witnessed prior to the holidays, at about 313.

As usual towards the end of the year, the days ahead could see greater fluctuations in EUR/HUF quotes until the year's closing rate is officially determined by the National Bank of Hungary (NBH). Based on the range witnessed in the past few days, the end-2017 rate could be anywhere between 310 and 313. Currently, the Hungarian currency is 0.8% weaker compared to the beginning of 2017.

The forint was trading at 262.42 vs. the US dollar on Wednesday morning, while the Swiss franc was worth 265.33 forints. USD/HUF quotes fell 10.6% over the year 2017, predominantly as a result of the weakening of the US dollar compared to the world's major currencies.

Among the regional currencies directly competing with the Hungarian forint, the Polish zloty has been stagnating this morning, while the Czech koruna started the day with 0.1% weakening vs. the euro. In other emerging markets, the Russian ruble has gained 0.2% against the US dollar, the Turkish lira has stayed stable, the South African rand has firmed 0.2%.

The performance of emerging market currencies so far today has been partly due to the weakening of the US dollar, as the EUR/USD rate firmed 0.15% to 1.188 early in the morning. The Japanese yen has remained stagnant this morning CET, while the sterling has made infinitesimal gains vs. the dollar.

No macro data of particular importance is scheduled for release on Wednesday, which means that the forint market is likely to manifest the usual signs of low end-of-the-year trade.