BUDAPEST: Central European currencies and stocks fell on Friday as fears of a global trade war drove investors away from the risk of emerging markets.
The forint led the decline, dropping 0.3 percent to 313 per euro by 0908 GMT. The zloty and the Czech crown slipped about 0.1 percent.
The forint fell after Hungary posted a current account surplus of 197 million euros for the last quarter of 2017. Analysts had expected a surplus of 738 million euros .
The surplus, which has been a key support for the forint, narrowed to 3.6 billion euros in 2017, down from 6.87 billion euros the year before.
But "local factors are not really on the map right now ... emerging markets are getting a beating anyway," one Budapest-based currency dealer said.
The main reason was the prospect of a global trade war, after the Unites States announced tariffs on Chinese and China threatened retaliation.
Regional stocks extended Thursday's losses at a somewhat slower pace, led by bank and energy stocks.
Warsaw's blue-chip index fell 1.4 percent and Prague shed 1 percent.
Budapest, after a heavy beating on Thursday, eased only 0.6 percent.
Long-term government bond yields were flat or rose by 1 to 2 basis points. Hungarian yields were steady before Tuesday's central bank meeting, where rate setters are expected to reaffirm they would keep monetary policy loose.
Romanian bonds were mixed, after the government rejected all bids at a tender to sell 2019 debt.
Analysts expect Romania's central bank to continue to raise interest rates at its meeting on April 6.
The leu firmed a shade.
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