Hungarian Forint Falls Against US Dollar And Euro

The Hungarian forint fell sharply against its US and European counterparts during Monday's early trading as the Hungarian June to July unemployment rose, a report by Central Statistics Office said.

Hungary's Central Statistical Office announced that the unemployment rate stood at 9.9% in the June to August period, up from 9.7% in the May to July period. The unemployment rate came in line with economists' expectations.

For the June to August period, the number of unemployed persons totaled 418,800, larger than the 407,200 persons in the May to July period. The number of employed persons decreased to 3.80 million from 3.81 million.

At the same time, the labor force participation rate stood at 54.9, slightly up from 54.8 in the May to July period.

The forint edged down to 185.14 against the dollar, with 188.6 seen as the next downside target level. At last week's New York session close, the pair was quoted at 183.14.

Against the currency of Europe, the forint weakened to 270.47, compared to Friday's close of 269.01. On the downside, the immediate support for the Hungarian currency is seen around the 271.9 level.

Hungary's central bank is expected to announce its monetary policy decision at 8.00 am ET today. Economists expect the central bank to cut the rate to 7.5% from 8%.