CEE MARKETS-Polish zloty hovers near two-week high after EU ends rule of law procedure

By Anita Komuves BUDAPEST, May 7 (Reuters) - Central European currencies were little moved on Tuesday, with the Polish zloty trading a touch weaker but still near a two-week high reached after the European Commission said that it would end rule of law proceedings against Poland. The zloty was last 0.1% lower at 4.312 per euro. The European Union's executive arm is to end six years of rule of law proceedings against Poland, Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said on Monday. "The EUR/PLN exchange rate starts at 4.31 and we do not expect much to change today," Bank Millennium wrote. Investors are also looking ahead to the Polish central bank's rate-setting meeting on Thursday, with a press conference scheduled for Friday. Hungary's forint eased 0.21% in a correction, trading at 389.1 versus the euro while it kept hovering around the level where it firmed last week. "The market is calm today. The forint has been firming since last week, and I expect it to do so a little longer," an FX trader in Budapest said. "The central bank's message about the slowdown in rate cuts is starting to show in the forint's exchange rate." The currency, central Europe's worst performer this year, firmed more than 1% since the National Bank of Hungary cut its base rate by 50 basis points to 7.75% last month and said that there was "no need to rush" with further rate cuts. Investors were also awaiting April inflation data from Hungary, scheduled to be released on Friday. March CPI came in at an annual 3.6%, continuing to decelerate as expected, but services inflation stayed high, adding to investor caution in the central bank's rate-cutting pace. Hungary's calendar-adjusted retail sales rose by an annual 4.2% in March following a revised 1.6% rise in February, the Central Statistics Office (KSH) said on Tuesday. Elsewhere, the Czech crown edged down 0.06% and was trading at 25.035 to the euro. Czech industrial output fell by 2.7% year-on-year in March, below expectations for a 0.5% drop, statistics office data showed on Tuesday. The data came after a 0.7% rise in February. Data in the Czech Republic showed a 39 billion euro foreign trade surplus, above expectations. Stocks in the region were mixed, with Prague's main index adding 0.44% while Budapest edged up 0.03%. Warsaw's index was 0.36% up. CEE SNAPSH AT MARKET OT 1106 S CET CURREN CIES Latest Previo Daily Change us trade close change in 2024 Czech 0 0 Hungary 00 00 Polish % Romania Serbian 00 50 % % Note: calculated 1800 daily from CET change Latest Previo Daily Change us close change in 2024 Prague 1536.5 1529.7 +0.44 +8.67 7 700 % % Budapes 68588. 68568. +0.03 +13.1 t 92 49 % 5% Warsaw <.WIG2 2556.7 2547.5 +0.36 +9.12 0> 4 3 % % Buchare <.BETI 17282. NULL #VALUE +12.4 st > 03 ! 3% Spread Daily vs change Bund in Czech spread Republi c 0 ps 0 ps 0 ps Poland ps 0 ps ps FORWAR D 3x6 6x9 9x12 3M interb ank Czech Hungary Poland Note: are for ask FRA prices quotes *************************************** *********************** (Additional reporting by Karol Badohal in Warsaw and Jan Lopatka in Prague; Editing by Emelia Sithole-Matarise)