CEE Exchange Rates Report for November 17th - 21st

By: Margaret Gachau, The Quinnipiac University Global Economics Research Team

CEE Currencies Index

Source: Eurostat and own calculations. Exchange rates are inverted to be USD per local currency (i.e., an increase indicates a stronger domestic currency) and then indexed to be 100 at the start of the period.

During the week of November 17, 2025 – November 21, 2025, the CEE currencies posted broad gains against the U.S. dollar, though performance varied across countries. While the pace and consistency of appreciation varied, all four currencies ended the week notably stronger relative to the start of the period. Early in the week, the Polish zloty (blue) appreciated before diverging slightly on November 18^th, experiencing a brief dip of roughly 0.25%. This pullback was short-lived, and it subsequently strengthened sharply, ending the week as the top performer. The Czech koruna (orange) also recorded a general upward trajectory, with its appreciation accelerating in the second half of the week, placing it as the second-strongest currency by the end of the week. The Romanian leu (purple) maintained a steady appreciation trend throughout most of the period, experiencing only a mild easing on the final trading but still finishing near weekly highs. The Hungarian forint (green) displayed the most fluctuation. After a mid-week decline that briefly pushed it into the negative territory of approximately -0.15%, it rebounded to around 0.75% but ultimately ended the week as the weakest performer.

CEE Currencies Historical Trends

Source: Eurostat and own calculations. Exchange rates are inverted to be USD per local currency (i.e., an increase indicates a stronger domestic currency. The center line is a rolling three-month average. The upper and lower boundaries are the average plus and average minus one standard deviation, respectively, for the same three-month period.

During the week of November 17 - 25, 2025, the CEE currencies generally trended downward, with each showing varying degrees of depreciation. The Czech koruna (CZK) weakened steadily, moving toward the lower end of its rolling bound and stabilizing near 0.048. The Hungarian forint (HUF) followed a similar pattern, slipping slightly below its rolling three- month upper boundary signaling mild but persistent downward pressure. The Polish zloty (PLN) initially held a relatively stable exchange rate, but this stability was short-lived, it subsequently declined, falling below 0.27. Meanwhile, the Romanian leu (RON) remained the weakest performer, trading below its lower boundary. Mirroring a subdued trend observed earlier in November.

Additional Readings

Hungarian Forint Breaks 1.5-Year Record Following Central Bank’s Rate Freeze

This article explores why Hungarian forint’s sharp mid-week appreciation was driven almost entirely by the National Bank of Hungary’s decision to freeze the policy rate at 6.5% and signal prolonged monetary tightening, which boosted investor confidence and pushed Hungarian forint (HUF) to its strong levels. Unlike the other CEE currencies, the move was Hungary-specific, not part of a regional trend, underscoring the market’s sensitivity to National Bank of Hungary’s communication and fiscal-risk headlines.