BUCHAREST, Jan 12 (Reuters) - The Hungarian forint led gains among central European currencies on Wednesday, driven by expectations of high interest rates, while stocks tracked continental gains after less hawkish comments from the U.S. Federal Reserve chairman. By 0930 GMT, the forint was up 0.3% against the euro at 356.00, trading at a fresh three-month high. The unit, which underperformed regional peers last year, has gained 3.8% so far in 2022. "The euro-forint rate firmed past a very important level yesterday. It passed the 200-day moving average, and if it can close below 357.40 today once again, there is a chance for further strengthening," brokerage Equilor wrote in a note. The National Bank of Hungary"s one-week deposit rate, which is used to tackle short-term market volatility is at 4%. It is above the base rate which is 2.4%. The Czech crown was up 0.1% at 24.4050. Czech headline inflation accelerated to its highest level since Sept. 2008 in December, backing expectations the central bank would continue lifting interest rates at a fast pace. Central European policymakers have been lifting interest rates to curb multi-year high inflation spurred on by rising energy costs, tight labour markets and global supply chain shortages, with the Czech central bank the most aggressive. Elsewhere in the region, the Polish zloty was up 0.1% against the euro while the Romanian leu was flat. Romania has the lowest benchmark interest rate among its regional peers, with the central bank preferring gradual quarter point hikes and firm money market liquidity controls. read more Warsaw"s blue-chip index (.WIG20) led gains in the region, with a 1.3% advance on the day. Bucharest"s (.BETI) was up 1.2%, Prague"s (.PX) 0.6% and Budapest"s (.BUX) 0.2%. European shares rose on Wednesday, after U.S. Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell said it may take several months to see the start of tighter monetary policy. read more CEE MARKETS SNAPSHOT AT 1047 CET CURRENCIES Latest Previous Daily Change bid close change in 2022 Czech crown 24.4050 24.4400 +0.14% +1.91% Hungary forint 356.0000 357.1000 +0.31% +3.76% Polish zloty 4.5340 4.5400 +0.13% +1.26% Romanian leu 4.9455 4.9450 -0.01% +0.05% Croatian kuna 7.5220 7.5235 +0.02% -0.06% Serbian dinar 117.5400 117.5900 +0.04% +0.03% Note: daily change calculated from 1800 CET Latest Previous Daily Change close change in 2022 Prague (.PX) 1441.68 1433.3700 +0.58% #VALUE! Budapest (.BUX) 53701.34 53599.36 +0.19% +5.88% Warsaw (.WIG20) 2374.93 2344.45 +1.30% +4.76% Bucharest (.BETI) 13429.79 13274.84 +1.17% +2.82% Ljubljana (.SBITOP) 1306.58 1309.58 -0.23% +4.07% Zagreb (.CRBEX) 2153.53 2150.46 +0.14% +3.57% Belgrade (.BELEX15) 826.04 827.10 -0.13% +0.64% Sofia (.SOFIX) 651.96 650.71 +0.19% +2.56% Yield Yield Spread Daily (bid) change vs Bund change in Czech Republic spread 2-year 3.9190 0.0050 +450bps +1bps 5-year 3.5700 0.0040 +394bps +1bps 10-year 3.3140 -0.0110 +335bps -1bps Poland 2-year 3.5140 0.0300 +410bps +3bps 5-year 4.0510 -0.0220 +442bps -2bps 10-year 4.0590 0.0520 +410bps +6bps FORWARD 3x6 6x9 9x12 3M interbank Czech Rep 4.89 4.88 4.66 4.14 Hungary 4.95 5.13 5.07 4.25 Poland 4.00 4.24 4.22 2.72 Note: FRA quotes are for ask prices **************************************************************