Hungary's central bank left interest rates at 6 percent as expected in a unanimous vote attended by three new policymakers on Monday, and flagged rates would stay on hold for a sustained period to meet its inflation target.

The forint weakened after Monday's decision but was trading stable later in the session. On Tuesday, traders said it was correcting. By 0750 GMT, it was down 0.9 percent on the day.

"I think it is a correction, profit taking," said one trader in Budapest. "The ECB is expected to hike interest rates, same for Poland, the Czech Republic. You cannot expect the forint to get stronger forever."

Also in Hungary, data showed the three-month rolling unemployment rate rose to 11.5 percent in December-February, from 11.2 percent in November-January.

The Polish zloty was virtually unchanged against the euro and analysts said exchange rate movements should be limited ahead of the central bank's rate decision next week.

"The zloty might be susceptible to a correction (weakening) after its recent significant rebound, but the prospects of a rate hike next week should support the Polish currency in the next few days," Bank Handlowy wrote in a morning note.

Adam Glapinski of the Monetary Policy Council was quoted by the PAP state news agency on Monday as saying that a change in rates in April is "very probable".

Elsewhere in the region, the Romanian leu was down half a percentage point against the single currency as profit taking continued after the unit hit a one-year high last week supported by central bank comments.

Markets are looking forward to a rate-setting meeting on Thursday and widely expect the bank to keep borrowing costs unchanged at 6.25 percent.

Stubborn inflation has prompted analysts to revise their earlier expectations of rate cuts later this year, and most now expect the central bank to keep rates frozen this year.

The Czech crown was flat against the euro, tracking the region, where mounting worries about Japan's crippled Fukushima nuclear plant and uncertainty over the impact of fighting in oil producer Libya prompted some risk aversion.

Stocks in the region were weaker on the day, led by Budapest and Warsaw