Złoty expected to gain over 12 months

Over the next 12 months, the złoty will gain 4.1 percent, more than other CEE currencies, according to a poll conducted by Reuters. It is expected to stand at 4.03 percent against the euro in August 2015. According to the National Bank of Poland, the EUR/PLN exchange rate was 4.199 on Wednesday. In the short term, CEE currencies are expected to be subject to pressure related to the conflict in Ukraine. In the long term analysts expect them to gain due to a gradual economic recovery. “The main risks to the zloty still stem from political turmoil abroad and from the risk of monetary easing in Poland. Therefore, the higher will be the focus on incoming macro data before the [Monetary Policy Council] meets in early September,” Dorota Strauch, an analyst at Raiffeisen in Warsaw, told Reuters. The poll also saw Hungary’s forint gaining 3.5 percent against the euro in the next 12 months, the Czech crown gaining 2 percent and Romania’s leu gaining 1.2 percent.