By Boldizsar  Gyori
       BUDAPEST, April 16 (Reuters) - The forint and the zloty
weakened on Tuesday while the crown held flat as tensions
continued to flare in the Middle East, hurting emerging market
currencies.
    The dollar rose to a five-month high against major peers
following hotter-than-expected U.S. retail sales figures.
    A firming dollar usually weighs on emerging market
currencies as it tends to attract investments away from assets
perceived as riskier.
    Hungary's forint weakened half a percent this week
to trade at 394.8 to the euro at 0800 GMT, touching a two-week
low. 
    "The dollar firmed to the forint in the last couple of days
as well as against the euro due to the geopolitical situation,
so the currency's weakening is not forint-specific," a
Budapest-based trader said. 
    The Polish zloty also sunk to an almost one-month
low to the euro at 4.32, down from its highest since early 2020
reached last week.
    "Last week's move to 4.26 did not stand the test of time or,
more specifically, of the strengthening dollar on international
markets," Bank Millennium said in a note. 
    The Czech crown firmed slightly to 25.29. 
    The dollar strengthened after U.S. retail sales increased
more than expected in March, data showed, further evidence that
the U.S. economy ended the first quarter on solid ground,
bolstering expectations that the Federal Reserve could delay
cutting interest rates until September.
    Some economists see the window for lowering rates this year
closing.
    The Federal Reserve keeping rates higher for longer will 
dent investor appetite for riskier emerging market assets,
further weakening their currencies. 
    
                   CEE       SNAPSHO   AT                       
                   MARKETS   T        1000 CET           
                             CURRENC                            
                             IES                         
                             Latest   Previous  Daily    Change
                             bid      close     change   in 2024
 EURCZK=  Czech                                         
 EURHUF=  Hungary                 0                     
 EURPLN=  Polish                                        
 EURRON=  Romania                                       
 EURRSD=  Serbian                 0                     
          Note:    calculated from              1800            
          daily                                 CET      
          change                                         
                                                                
                             Latest   Previous  Daily    Change
                                      close     change   in 2024
 .PX      Prague             1545.08  1557.560   -0.80%   +9.27%
                                             0           
 .BUX     Budapes            66344.5  67407.86   -1.58%   +9.44%
          t                        3                     
 .WIG20   Warsaw             2421.31   2453.31   -1.30%   +3.34%
 .BETI    Buchare            16776.8  16908.20   -0.78%   +9.15%
          st                       3                     
                                                                
                                                Spread   Daily
                                                vs Bund  change
                                                         in
          Czech                                          spread
          Republi                                        
          c                                              
 CZ2YT=R                                            s  
 CZ5YT=R                                            s  
 CZ10YT=                                           s  
          Poland                                                
 PL2YT=R                                            s  
 PL5YT=R                                            s  
 PL10YT=                                           s  
                   FORWARD                                      
                             3x6      6x9       9x12     3M
                                                         interba
                                                         nk
          Czech                 4.83      4.28     4.09     5.55
          Rep                                           
          Hungary               7.45      7.22     7.22     7.69
                                                         
          Poland                5.86      5.81     5.66     5.86
                                                         
          Note:    are for ask                                  
          FRA      prices                                
          quotes                                         
          *********************************************         
          *****************                              
 
    
    

 (Reporting by Boldizsar Gyori in Budapest, additional reporting
by Anna Wlodarczak-Semczuk in Warsaw; Editing by Mrigank
Dhaniwala)