Headlines:
- EU partly satisfied with concessions of Hungary’s government
- Czech trade balance at all-time highs in February
The Hungarian forint has been only little changed event though the EU signalled modest satisfaction with a fact that the government addressed some objections of the EU institutions related to the new central bank law. Still, it is far from certain that Hungary’s recent concessions will pave the way for getting a new IMF/EU loan.
Another important story was the NBP meeting yesterday. While the Polish central bank left its repo rate unchanged as expected, its comments indicated a less hawkish tone. So, the NBP moves closer to outlook as we believe that that the official rate will stay unchanged for the whole year.
And last but not least, an interesting figure has unveiled the Czech statistical office this morning. The January trade balance showed a surplus of almost 30 billion crowns. It is the highest trade surplus in history. In particular, domestic automakers have been driven to such excellent results, as their exports grow by more than 13%. So domestic carmakers are gaining higher market share on the European market. On the import side, there are two continuing opposing tendencies, which offset each other: expensive oil and weakening domestic demand. Thus, the Czech foreign trade is, in our opinion, in excellent conditions as it enjoys the growing competitiveness of domestic firms.