Hungarian Forint Drops on Bets Interest Rate to Be Kept on Hold

By Ewa Krukowska

Aug. 25 (Bloomberg) -- The Hungarian forint fell against the euro before the central bank's meeting at which policy makers will probably leave interest rates unchanged.

The forint declined 0.1 percent to 234.08 per euro by 9:35 a.m. in Budapest, dropping for a second straight day.

The currency is the best emerging-markets performer in the past six months, rising 11.6 percent against the euro as the central bank raised interest to the highest level in more than three years to curb inflation.

The Magyar Nemzeti Bank in Budapest will leave the two-week deposit rate at 8.5 percent, the second-highest in the European Union after Romania, according to all 20 analysts in a Bloomberg survey. The decision will be announced at 2 p.m. local time today.

To contact the reporter on this story: Ewa Krukowska at ekrukowska@bloomberg.net