Growth in Poland, Czechia and Hungary outpaced the euro-area expansion in the second quarter of 2026, but FXStreet reported that ING strategist Frantisek Taborsky saw inflation and energy prices keeping currency risks in focus.
Eurostat’s September 2026 harmonized consumer price index data showed annual inflation at 4.0% in Poland, 2.2% in Czechia and 2.1% in Hungary, compared with 3.8% across the euro area. Energy accounted for 1.71 percentage points of the euro-area rate. Poland’s reading was above the bloc’s, while those in Czechia and Hungary were lower.
Statistics Poland’s separate national consumer-price measure rose 4.1% from a year earlier and 0.7% from August. Statistics Poland, the Czech Statistical Office and the Hungarian Central Statistical Office reported year-over-year GDP growth of 4.1% in Poland, 1.8% in Czechia and 1.7% in Hungary for the second quarter. Eurostat recorded 1.2% growth for the euro area. The national releases use different adjustment methods, so their figures do not form a single regional growth rate.
ING’s Oct. 23 note linked pressure on the Polish zloty and Hungarian forint to energy-import exposure and what the bank characterized as a lack of hawkish signals from their central banks. It said the Czech koruna could prove more resilient. EconoTimes previously covered ING’s differing assessments of currency risks across Central and Eastern Europe.
FXStreet reported Oct. 27 that regional currencies had steadied after a Friday sell-off. The outlet said Taborsky saw regional rate expectations reflecting energy-market movements more closely again, after a period when the connection had weakened. He described inflation as a more urgent concern than recession and judged currency risks to lean toward losses.
The Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) meets Oct. 27-28, and the European Central Bank’s Governing Council meets Oct. 28-29, with its policy decision scheduled for Oct. 29. Czechia’s preliminary third-quarter GDP estimate and Hungary’s GDP flash estimate are scheduled for Oct. 30.
