CE currencies little changed, markets wait for Polish retail sales

The central European Currencies were little changed on Wednesday. The most interesting trading was with the polish zloty. PLN appreciated under the level of 4.16 or 0.5% around noon. This move was linked to the sale of the stake in the bank PKO BP (465,55 GBp, 0,50%) . However, the zloty did not keep all its profits and corrected later in the day slightly above the opening level. Forint weakened slightly by approximately 0.2% and the Czech koruna was little changed.

Today, the Polish market will be again in the centre of attention as retail sales and unemployment are awaited. The retail sales could say more about the willingness of the central bank to cut rates further. NBP reduced its base rate in January and suggested the end of the easing cycle may be near. Deputy Finance Minister Kowalczyk said after the 2Y and 5Y government bond auctions that Poland will probably cover more than 40% of borrowing needs for 2013 till the end of January. The results of the auction showed strong demand and MoF sold record amount of almost PLN 14 bn.