USD/PLN (PLN=X)

Crown, zloty to lead FX charge in 2024; forint seen weaker: Reuters poll

The Czech crown and Polish zloty will likely lead central and eastern European currency gains in 2024 as interest rate cuts go slower than some bet while Warsaw's moves to unblock European Union funds will also cheer investors, a Reuters poll found. Poland's zloty led the region in 2023 by rising nearly 8% against the euro, with the bulk of those gains coming after a broad alliance of pro-European Union parties won a majority in an October election. At the same time, the Polish central bank paused an interest rate cutting cycle in the final months of 2023 and analysts expect it could stay on hold for the first half of 2024.