By Jason Hovet PRAGUE, September 16 (Reuters) – The crown hit its highest level since February 2020 – when the COVID-19 pandemic began to rock markets – on Thursday amid growing debate over whether whether the Czech central bank could accelerate its rate hike cycle. In stock markets, Central European indices rose, led by Prague, as Czech utility CEZ hit a new nine-year high thanks to higher wholesale electricity prices. The Czech Republic and Hungary were the first two countries in the European Union to see their interest rates rise, as their central banks seek to contain price pressures as economies recover from the pandemic. Central Europe faces a combination of national pressures, such as tightening labor markets and post-pandemic consumer demand, and external factors such as those caused by global supply issues and rising costs. energy and materials. Data on Thursday showed that Czech producer prices rose at the fastest annual rate since 1993, adding to arguments that the central bank may need faster interest rate hikes. Central banker Marek Mora was also quoted by Bloomberg in an interview released Thursday, saying the odds are approaching the possibility of a larger 50 basis point rate hike. The crown was up 0.3% to 25.255 per euro at 09:29 GMT. Komercni Banka said on Thursday it saw the Czech National Bank’s key interest rate rise to 2.00% by the end of the year, from 0.75%, and indicating a rate of increases faster than the standard 25 basis point increase taken in the last two meetings. . “Yes, it’s fast, but the financial market is considering something similar,” Komercni Banka said in a note, adding that rate hikes wouldn’t have to be that big next year if inflation slows. . The crown still remains below pre-pandemic levels of 24.77 per euro affected in mid-February 2020, before markets start to pull back as COVID-19 infections accelerated in the world. The Hungarian forint is also still below pre-COVID-19 highs, but has gained almost 4% this year – like the crown – as interest rates have also risen there. On Thursday it was stable at 349.15 per euro. The Polish zloty fell 0.1% and continued to drag as Poland’s central bank maintains its loose policy despite inflation peaking in two decades. “Extending the period of ultra-low interest rates poses a risk of growing imbalances in the economy, and delaying the start of this process may increase the cost of bringing inflation back to target,” Millennium Bank said Thursday. . CEE SNAPSHO AT MARKETS T 1129 CET CURRENC IES Last previous daily change s auction closing change in 2021 EURCZK Czech EURHUF Hungary 0 0 EURPLN Polish EURRON Romanian EURHRK Croatian EURRSD Serbian 0 0 Note: calculate 1800 daily CET change from STOCKS Last change previous daily change close in 2021 .PX Prague 1304.39 1295.16 + 0.71% +26.99 00% .BUX Budapest 5255.1 52317.9 + 0.46% +24.82 5 1% .WIG20 Warsaw <.wig20> % .BETI Bucares 12,354.4 12,288.1 + 0.54% +25.99 t 5 2% .SBITO Ljubljan <.sbito p a> % .CRBEX Zagreb <.crbex> % .BELEX Belgrade <.belex> .SOFIX Sofia <.sofix> % BONDS Yield Yield Spread Daily variation (bid) vs Bund variation of Czech spread Republic CZ2YT = 2 years CZ5YT = 5 years s CZ10YT s Poland PL2YT = 2 years s PL5YT = 5 years s PL10YT s FRA 3×6 6×9 9×12 3M Czech interbank Hungary Poland Note: FRA quotes are for asking prices ** ******************************* ******* ************ ********** (Reporting by Jason Hovet in Prague and Alicja Ptak in Warsaw; Editing by Amy Caren Daniel)