(Recasts with Czech rate decision)
    May 6 (Reuters) - The Czech crown erased early
losses and hit a 2-1/2 month high on Thursday after the Czech
central bank's governor said a rate hike was certain this year,
while market rates added to bets that tightening was getting
nearer.
    Czech Central Bank Governor Jiri Rusnok said on Thursday
that the bank will certainly raise interest rates in 2021 and
the board will debate tightening already in June.
    The crown was 0.19% firmer against the euro at 25.738 at
1537 GMT, after having traded as much as 0.29% weaker earlier in
the day.
    Shorter-term forward rate agreements and interest rate swaps
rose 5-10 basis points. "I think the market was strongly
surprised" by the hawkish comments, a trader said. "We might
start pricing in some odds for a June (hike) already."
    The seven-member board voted unanimously to keep the main
two-week repo rate at 0.25%, where it has been for
the past year. 
    On Wednesday the Polish central bank kept its main interest
rate at an all-time low of 0.1% despite saying that it sees
above-target inflation in the coming months.
    The Polish zloty continued to slip, weakening 0.1%
to 4.575. Central Europe's most liquid currency has been
affected by worries concerning upcoming sittings of the Supreme
Court concerning Swiss franc mortgages, a major risk factor for
Polish banks.
    "Before we hear the Supreme Court ruling on the Swiss
mortgage saga we expect the volatility to remain elevated," said
Piotr Poplawski, senior economist at ING.
    Thousands of Polish borrowers took out franc loans more than
a decade ago to take advantage of low Swiss interest rates but
then faced ballooning repayments when the zloty weakened sharply
against the Swiss currency.
    The Court will issue guidance on questions including the
claims that banks can make from clients after mortgage contracts
were cancelled.
    The Hungarian forint was 0.20% stronger at 358.18,
after gains in the previous session.
    "...The rate fell under the 200-day moving average of 359.4,
but we cannot yet unambiguously say that the long-term moving
average was broken," Erste Bank wrote in a morning note.
    The bank said that the firming was due to the recent steps
to gradually reopen the economy. "It's been typical for the
forint so far to react to news about the pandemic in both
directions."
    
                   CEE      SNAPSHO   AT                      
                   MARKETS  T        1737              
                                     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:     calculated from            1800            
         daily                                CET      
         change STOCKS                                     
                            Latest   Previou  Daily    Change
                                     s                 
                                     close    change   in 2021
 .PX     Prague             1096.51  1101.92   -0.49%   +6.75%
                                          00           
 .BUX    Budapest           44472.7  44142.7   +0.75%   +5.62%
                                  1        0           
 .WIG20  Warsaw    <.WIG20  2046.67  2047.36   -0.03%   +3.16%
                   >                                   
 .BETI   Buchares           11505.0  11560.7   -0.48%   +17.33
         t                        8        5                 %
 .SBITO  Ljubljan  <.SBITO  1065.93  1067.32   -0.13%   +18.32
 P       a         P>                                        %
 .CRBEX  Zagreb    <.CRBEX  1930.65  1923.39   +0.38%   +11.00
                   >                                         %
 .BELEX  Belgrade  <.BELEX   755.89   756.92   -0.14%   +0.97%
 15                15>                                 
 .SOFIX  Sofia     <.SOFIX   522.74   522.74   +0.00%   +16.81
                   >                                         %
                                                              
                   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 Alan Charlish in Warsaw, Anita Komuves in
Budapest and Robert Muller and Jason Hovet in Prague; Editing by
Shailesh Kuber, Alexandra Hudson)