Forint up versus euro, down against dollar
The forint was trading at 312.59 to the euro late Thursday on the interbank forex market, up from final quotes at 313.50 on Wednesday. At 313.64 to the euro early Wednesday, the forint moved between 311.64, a nine-day high late afternoon, and 314.62, after a five-day low at 315.96 Wednesday intraday.
The Hungarian currency quickly worked off initial losses then flexed some muscles against the euro as the common currency dove versus the dollar for a second day, its plunge accelerating after the European Central Bank (ECB) confirmed expectations by announcing measures to enhance the impact of its quantitative easing program that started in March, and emphasized its readiness to do more if warranted by risks to growth and inflation.
On the domestic market, the regular auction of longer-term Hungarian government bonds earlier in the day with rising demand and mixed results was not yet enough to stem the initial negative correction of the forint in the morning as the primary market is increasingly reserved for domestic banks.
Chinaʼs struggle with an economic slowdown will haunt forex markets for months to come, even if many emerging currencies are considered somewhat cheap after months of a relentless sell-off, a Reuters poll showed on Thursday. While speculation over U.S. interest rates will also weigh heavily, with only a few days to go until a Fed meeting in which some economists say it could raise rates, the chances of China devaluing its currency further is likely to hold more sway over financial markets, it said, but added that the currencies least prone to a sell-off are the Czech koruna and Hungarian forint, which are forecast to gain despite rising rates in the United States and Chinaʼs slowdown.
The forint traded at 281.49 to the dollar, down from 279.23 in final quotes on Wednesday. On Thursday, it moved between 278.83 and 281.57, a more than three-week low, after a six-day high at 276.94 Tuesday intraday.
It was quoted at 288.18 to the Swiss franc, a tad down from 288.14 late Wednesday. Its range on Thursday was 287.62 to 288.97, after an eight-day high at 287.07 Wednesday intraday. Since its crash to an all-time low at 378.49 to the franc on January 15 when the Swiss central bank scrapped its cap of 1.20 to the euro, it reached the highest at 281.07 on February 26.
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