BUDAPEST/ZAGREB: The forint and the zloty retreated on Tuesday alongside worldwide stock markets, while the euro strengthened.
Friday's robust second-quarter economic output figures from Central European states had helped the Hungarian and the Polish currencies, the region's most liquid, rise to four-month highs.
Sentiment turned on Tuesday ahead of a batch of US economic data.
The figures and hawkish comments from New York Federal Reserve President William Dudley helped the dollar rebound from an 8-week low against the euro, but the European single currency remained strong.
It also gained 0.1 percent against the zloty and 0.2 percent versus the forint by 1335 GMT.
The rally of Central European units fizzled out despite Czech figures confirming that its economic growth outpaced the euro zone, expanding 2.5 percent annually in the second quarter, down from 3 percent in the first quarter, but above analysts' forecasts of 2.3 percent.
"The euro firms against the dollar, euro assets are bought now and it is also firming against emerging market currencies like the forint and the zloty," one Budapest-based currency dealer said.
"Stock exchanges also opened slightly lower ... and also, after a (forint) firming in the past one or two weeks, a correction was on the cards," the dealer said.
The crown was steady at 27.022 against the euro, sticking on the floor at which the Czech central bank has defended the currency since 2013.
Household consumption was a major driver of Czech growth as wages regionally have been increased to fight a labour drain into Western European Union countries.
Analysts said economic recovery in Germany as well as government spending also helped growth, and the figures were unlikely to trigger any change in Czech monetary policy.
Stock indices in Budapest, Prague and Warsaw fell by 0.4-0.6 percent, tracking a retreat of European shares from Monday's seven-week highs.
Bucharest bucked the trend, with its main index rising 1.1 percent.
It was helped higher by a 2.1 percent gain of the shares of the investment fund Fondul Proprietatea and 1.1 percent rise in Banca Transilvania which reported record first-half profits late on Monday.
Croatia's kuna gained a quarter of percent to 7.48 against the euro, a level near a 5-week high.
"We had a long weekend (with Monday a holiday) and quite a strong inflow of euros these days amid the tourist season," said a dealer at a major local bank.
Government bonds mostly retreated in the region. The yield on Poland's 10-year paper rose 8 basis points to 2.70 percent.
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