PRAGUE, Sept 22 (Reuters) - Hungary's forint fell further
from its September highs on Wednesday, a day after its central
bank slowed the pace of interest rate hikes, while the Polish
zloty touched a more than 5-month low ahead of a key
constitutional court ruling.
    The forint led losses among central European currencies,
which largely stayed under pressure as markets awaited more
clues about the U.S. Federal Reserve's tapering timeline. 
    Only the crown firmed, amid growing certainty the Czech
central bank could accelerate its own rate tightening cycle.
    Central European stock markets also strengthened, led by a
1.5% rise in Warsaw blue-chip stocks as global markets
found relief after Chinese developer Evergrande said it could
pay a coupon on one of its bonds. Worries over a possible
default and its spillover effects hit markets this week.
    In Poland, the zloty had dropped 0.2% to 4.631 to
the euro by 0904 GMT.
    The country's Constitutional Tribunal could rule on
Wednesday on whether Poland's constitution or European Union
treaties take precedence, a judgement that an EU commissioner
said was holding up the release of European funds to Warsaw.

    "(The decision) could put further pressure on the zloty and
could have further consequences in the ongoing fight with
Brussels and the future of the National Recovery Plan," Bank
Millennium said.
    Hungary's forint fell 0.5%. Its central bank 
delivered a lower-than-expected 15 basis point rate increase on
Tuesday, but assured markets a tightening cycle would continue
as it lifted its inflation forecasts. 
    Central banks in Hungary and the Czech Republic were the
first in the European Union to start interest rate hikes in
June.
    "One might question why higher inflation risk does not
warrant faster, more urgent rate hikes, but all in all, the
communication suggested that rate hikes may continue further
than it appeared before," Commerzbank said. 
    Markets are betting the Czech central bank could deliver a
50 basis point rate hike - above their standard 25 basis point
moves - at a Sept. 30 meeting. It would be the first time since
1997 that the bank opted for a steeper hike.
    The crown outperformed on Wednesday, gaining a
touch to 25.413 per euro, but it was off a more than 1-1/2 year
high of 25.248 hit last week. 
    
                   CEE      SNAPSHO   AT                      
                   MARKETS  T        1104              
                                     CET               
                                                              
                   CURRENC                                    
                   IES                                 
                            Latest   Previou  Daily    Change
                                     s                 
                            bid      close    change   in 2021
 EURCZK  Czech                                       
 EURHUF  Hungary                0        0           
 EURPLN  Polish                                      
 EURRON  Romanian                                    
 EURHRK  Croatian                                    
 EURRSD  Serbian                0        0           
         Note:     calcula                    1800            
         daily     ted                        CET      
         change    from STOCKS                                     
                            Latest   Previou  Daily    Change
                                     s                 
                                     close    change   in 2021
 .PX     Prague             1297.58  1294.19   +0.26%   +26.33
                                          00                 %
 .BUX    Budapest           51133.4  50815.5   +0.63%   +21.44
                                  7        6                 %
 .WIG20  Warsaw    <.WIG20  2318.14  2278.11   +1.76%   +16.84
                   >                                         %
 .BETI   Buchares           12347.8  12356.9   -0.07%   +25.93
         t                        8        0                 %
 .SBITO  Ljubljan  <.SBITO  1156.10  1153.02   +0.27%   +28.33
 P       a         P>                                        %
 .CRBEX  Zagreb    <.CRBEX  1948.92  1945.53   +0.17%   +12.05
                   >                                         %
 .BELEX  Belgrade  <.BELEX   798.66   795.74   +0.37%   +6.69%
 15                15>                                 
 .SOFIX  Sofia     <.SOFIX   560.72   560.72   +0.00%   +25.29
                   >                                         %
                                                              
                   BONDS                                      
                            Yield    Yield    Spread   Daily
                            (bid)    change   vs Bund  change
                                                       in
         Czech                                         spread
         Republic                                      
 CZ2YT=    2-year                                s  
 CZ5YT=    5-year                                s  
 CZ10YT                                         s  
         Poland                                               
 PL2YT=    2-year                                s  
 PL5YT=    5-year                                s  
 PL10YT                                         s  
                                                              
                   FRA                                        
                            3x6      6x9      9x12     3M
                                                       interba
                                                       nk
         Czech                                      
         Hungary                                     
         Poland                                      
         Note: FRA quotes                                     
         are for ask                                   
         prices                                        
         ***********************************                  
         ***************************                   
                                                              
 
    

 (Reporting by Jason Hovet in Prague, Joanna Plucinska in Warsaw
and Gergely Szakacs in Budapest; Editing by Pravin Char)