(Corrects BNP Paribas recommendation in paragraph 8)
* FX rangebound, bounce away from technical levels
* Zloty seen outperforming
* Czech trade shows surplus, Hungary's industry down yr/yr
By Marius Zaharia
BUCHAREST, July 7 (Reuters) - Central European currencies stabilised on Tuesday, as a shift in risk appetite failed to weaken them beyond technical support levels, while data in the Czech Republic and Hungary sent mixed signals.
Currencies hit multi-month highs last week during a rally driven by encouraging regional data and an overall improvement in global sentiment but they suffered a correction on Monday as regional bourses fell.
At 0726 GMT the Polish zloty <EURPLN=>, the Hungarian forint <EURHUF=> and the Czech crown <EURCZK=> were up 0.1-0.2 percent, while Romania's leu <EURRON=> fell 0.2 percent.
"There is a barrier at 4.40 for the zloty and at 275 for the forint," one dealer in Bucharest said. "If they breach it, they fall further, if not they stabilise."
Concerns over the depth of Central Europe's economic slowdown and the impact of the financial crisis on its banks have driven losses for currencies since last September and Tuesday data on two of the region's biggest economies was mixed.
The Czech Republic posted a marginally higher-than-expected trade surplus [
] and Hungary's industrial output fell more than the market consensus [ ]."The balance improves but what is important for the Czech Republic is the dynamics of exports and imports and both fell significantly," said Radomir Jac from Generali PPF Asset Management. "For the crown it is mixed news."
BNP Paribas on Monday recommended selling the Czech crown against the euro, betting on further interest rate cuts as exporters come under pressure from the unit's recent strength. [
]A Reuters poll showed last week the region's major currencies were still expected to weaken in the short-term, but were seen firming over a 12-month period with the zloty leading gains [
]. ----------------------MARKET SNAPSHOT------------------------- Currency Latest Previous Local Localclose currency currency
change change
today in 2009 Czech crown <EURCZK=> 25,9 25,936 +0,14% +3,29% Polish zloty <EURPLN=> 4,384 4,386 +0,05% -6,14% Hungarian forint <EURHUF=> 274,1 274,5 +0,15% -3,85% Croatian kuna <EURHRK=> 7,325 7,32 -0,07% +0,55% Romanian leu <EURRON=> 4,211 4,203 -0,19% -4,67% Serbian dinar <EURRSD=> 92,877 93,163 +0,31% -3,66% All data taken from Reuters at 1026 CET. Currency percent change calculated from the daily domestic close at 1600 GMT.
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