The Hungarian currency weathered the unexpected shock of Polandʼs downgrade on Friday by Standard & Poorʼs relatively well. While still investment grade Polish yields jumped to junk-rated Hungaryʼs level, analysts see this could make Hungarian sovereigns more attractive, especially if long-expected upgrades for Hungary might finally come through this year following disappointments last year.
But some pressure is also felt on the forint in the wake of a 20% oil price fall in the last two weeks, as it could prompt Hungaryʼs central bank to chip in some more easing sooner than later to try to fend off the risk of disinflation or deflation returning.
The forint traded at 289.67 to the dollar, down from final quotes at 288.90 on Friday and 288.95 on Sunday. On Monday, it moved between 288.73 and 290.20, after a more than two-week high at 285.80 early Friday. On November 27, it fell to a third more than fifteen-year low within a month at 295.76.
The forint was quoted at 288.10 to the Swiss franc, down from 287.13 late Friday, but slightly up from 288.40 late Sunday. Its range on Monday was 287.19 to 288.59, a five-day low, after a more than six-week high on Friday intraday. Since a crash to an all-time low at 378.49 to the franc on January 15, 2015, when the Swiss central bank scrapped its cap of 1.20 to the euro, it reached the highest at 281.07 on February 26, 2015.
Producing journalism that is worthy of the name is a costly business. For over 30 years, the publishers, editors and reporters of the Budapest Business Journal have striven to bring you business news that works, information that you can trust, that is factual, accurate and presented without fear or favor.Newspaper organizations across the globe have struggled to find a business model that allows them to continue to excel, without compromising their ability to perform. Most recently, some have experimented with the idea of involving their most important stakeholders, their readers.
We would like to offer that same opportunity to our readers. We would like to invite you to help us deliver the quality business journalism you require. Hit our Support the BBJ button and you can choose the how much and how often you send us your contributions.
