* Currencies weaken, led by zloty, forint
* Hungary opposition backs PM nominee, Czechs agree early
polls
* Risk aversion picks up on U.S. auto news
By Marius Zaharia
BUCHAREST, March 30 (Reuters) - Central European currencies
fell on Monday, led by the Polish zloty and the Hungarian
forint, as political worries persisted in the region and
investors dropped risky assets globally.
Currencies have been damaged last week by the fall of
governments in Hungary and Czech Republic, but found some relief
in Romania's and Serbia's IMF-led aid agreements and in a global
stocks rally.
By 0708 GMT, the Polish zloty <EURPLN=>, seen as a proxy for
the region, was down 1.4 percent from Friday's domestic close,
leading regional losses.
The Hungarian forint <EURHUF=> lost 0.9 percent, the Czech
crown <EURCZK=> dropped 0.6 percent, while the Romanian leu
<EURRON=> was steady.
Hungary's opposition Free Democrats have endorsed Gordon
Bajnai, the ruling Socialists' nominee to replace Prime Minister
Ferenc Gyurcsany, in a move which may end a week-long political
deadlock. []
However, Hungarian markets are still concerned this was not
a done deal.
"The forint's weakening is caused by domestic factors, the
political uncertainty," one dealer said. "The concern is that
(Bajnai) will not be a long-term solution, and that is not
positive... The range today can be 306-312 (to the euro)."
In the Czech Republic, leaders of the two biggest political
parties agreed over the weekend an early election should be
held, but the timing was still uncertain along with what
government would lead the country until that time. []
Despite political nerves, the crown has outperformed its
regional peers over the past few sessions, as dealers noted
Prague's markets were driven mainly by external factors.
Investors' aversion to risk heightened following a U.S.
taskforces' rejection of turnaround plans from General Motors
and Chrysler. []
"The carmakers' story has hit things globally and stocks are
under pressure again," one Prague trader said.
----------------------MARKET SNAPSHOT-------------------------
Currency Latest Previous Local Local
close currency currency
change change
today in 2009
Czech crown <EURCZK=> 27.47 27.298 -0.63% -2.61%
Polish zloty <EURPLN=> 4.708 4.643 -1.38% -12.6%
Hungarian forint <EURHUF=> 307.1 304.35 -0.9% -14.18%
Croatian kuna <EURHRK=> 7.47 7.456 -0.19% -1.41%
Romanian leu <EURRON=> 4.24 4.243 +0.07% -5.32%
Serbian dinar <EURRSD=> 94.229 94.537 +0.33% -5.04%
All data taken from Reuters at 1008 CET.
Currency percent change calculated from the daily domestic
close at 1600 GMT.
*Benchmark is German bond equivalent.
All data taken from Reuters at 1654 CET.
Currency percent change calculated from the daily domestic
close at 1600 GMT.
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(Reporting by Reuters bureaus, Writing by Marius Zaharia,
Editing by Chris Pizzey)
