(Updates with cenbank decision, forint reaction)
By Anita Komuves
BUDAPEST, Nov 16 (Reuters) - The Hungarian forint fell on
Tuesday after the central bank raised its base rate by 30 basis
points - in line with forecasts but disappointing for some
investors who expected a faster pace of tightening after a jump
in inflation.
The forint weakened about 0.7% after the rate
decision. It was down 0.23% on the day and trading at 366.60 per
euro by 1334 GMT, less than a percent off its April 2020
all-time low.
Despite the forint"s plunge, hawkish messages from the
central bank in its statement and at its press conference could
help the currency, two FX traders in Budapest said.
"The forint will continue weakening towards its all-time low
if the market does not hear strong messages," one trader said.
The bank was to publish its statement and hold a press
conference at 1400 GMT.
Uncertainty over by how much the bank would be willing to
raise rates had worried markets over the past weeks, putting
pressure on the forint.
The NBH slowed the pace of rate rises to 15 bps in September
from 30 bps previously, and followed that with another 15 bps
hike in October.
The forint has eased more than 3% versus the euro since the
bank"s September decision to slow down rate hikes.
Long-term government bond yields were not immediately moved
by the rate hike, a fixed-income trader said.
The forint has also been pressured by larger-than-expected
rate hikes from the Polish and the Czech central banks earlier
this month to counter rising inflation.
However, analysts said that faltering growth and rising
COVID-19 cases could make central banks in the region more
cautious in coming months as data showed that CEE economies grew
below expectations in the third quarter.
Elsewhere, the Czech crown and the Romanian leu
were stable.
The Polish zloty slid 0.15% to 4.6510 per euro.
Rate setter Eugeniusz Gatnar said two more rate hikes of 50
basis points each in December and January were
needed.
Most stocks in the region gained, with Bucharest up
0.35%. Prague 0.17% higher and Warsaw"s equities edging up
0.07%. Budapest was 0.02% lower.
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