Hungarian Currency Further Loses Value in 2021

The Hungarian forint (HUF) weakened in 2021: by 1.3% against the euro (EUR), 9.3% against the American dollar (USD) and 6.0% against the Swiss franc (CHF).

On December 31, the forint ended the year at 368.87 forints against the euro and 324.48 forints against the American dollar, while the Swiss franc stood at 355.55 forints.

In the last week of the year, the forint strengthened by 0.1% against the euro and by 0.6% against the dollar, while weakening by 0.2% against the Swiss franc. Between the beginning of December and the end of the year, the forint lost 1.1% against the euro, 0.8% against the American dollar and 1.5% against the Swiss franc, the Hungarian state news agency MTI reports.

Last year, the forint reached its weakest exchange rate against the euro at 372.13 forints on November 23. By the end of the year, it had strengthened by 0.9%. The forint was at its strongest against the euro, at 344.91 forints on June 10, and weakened by 6.9% by the end of the year.

The forint was weakest against the American dollar at 330.95 forints on November 23 and strongest at 282.70 forints on June 1. It strengthened by 1.9% against its weakest exchange rate by the end of the year and weakened by 14.8% against its strongest.

The Swiss franc's highest was 357.59 forints on December 24 and its lowest was 314.67 forints on June 2. The forint strengthened by 0.6% against the Swiss franc by the end of the year compared with its weakest exchange rate this year, and weakened by 12.9% against the strongest.

The Polish zloty (PLN) ended the year 0.5% weaker against the euro, the Romanian leu (RON) weakened by 1.6% and the Czech koruna (CZK) strengthened by 5.3%.

The Hungarian central bank's base rate started 2021 at 0.60% and ended at 2.40%. The Polish central bank's benchmark interest rate stood at 0.10% at the beginning of last year and 1.75% at the end. The Czech central bank base rate went up from 0.25% at the beginning of the year to 3.75% at the end of the year. The Romanian central bank's benchmark interest rate stood at 1.50% at the beginning of the year and 1.75% at the end.