Eastern European currencies 'close to crisis'
Wednesday March 11 2009
Currencies in eastern and central Europe including the Hungarian forint may be headed for a crisis, Merrill Lynch & Co. said.
“For a number of currencies, a fully fledged crisis may not be ruled out given the sharp moves of the recent days that suggest plummeting investor confidence,” analysts led Daniel Tenengauzer, head of currency and rates strategy in New York, wrote in a report yesterday.
“There is no single currency for which the near-term outlook is positive in the region.”
The forint, which fell 12 percent against the euro to 300.37 this year, may drop to 330 per euro by the end of September, according to Merrill.
The Polish zloty, which declined almost 10 percent to 4.6046 per euro in the same period, will weaken to 5.05 per euro, while the Russian ruble will slide to 42.15 per dollar, Merrill said.
