2012.05.25 16:21:12 KEY CEE DATA: Hungary Rate, Polish GDP To Set Pace In Region

By Patryk Wasilewski and Marton Eder Of DOW JONES NEWSWIRES BUDAPEST (Dow Jones)-- Investors will watch a key rate decision in Hungary and Polish economic output figures next week while Purchasing Managers' Indexes will too show where the region's economies are headed. In Hungary, the central bank's monetary policy committee holds a rate-setting meeting Tuesday. Analysts polled by Dow Jones Newswires unanimously expect the panel to hold its base rate at 7%. Many see Governor Andras Simor setting a more hawkish tone as euro-zone worries have caused Hungarian assets to depreciate significantly over the past two weeks. "Until there is an agreement with the EU and the IMF, the MPC will keep its powder dry so it can respond to any deterioration in the Greek situation," Takarekbank analyst Gergely Suppan said Friday. Hungary may start talks with the International Monetary Fund and European Union in early June, Gyula Pleschinger, state secretary for taxation and finances, said May 22. Hungary hopes to secure a EUR15 billion precautionary credit line from the international bodies. Poland's statistics office will release first-quarter growth data. Analysts polled by Dow Jones Newswires expect growth in Central and Easter Europe's largest economy is slowing due to weakening external demand and private consumption. "I think consumption will be lower than in the fourth quarter as will be exports' contribution to growth," Bank Pocztowy economist Monika Kurtek said. Investments are expected to remain the key factor fueling growth in January-March as the country prepared for the Euro 2012 soccer championships it hosts jointly with Ukraine next month. "We expect investment growth to be reported at around 10%, mainly stimulated by public investments as we can see in construction data," PKO BP, Poland's largest bank by assets, wrote in a comment. Poland's economy so far has escaped negative effects from the European crisis, growing by a robust 4.3% in 2011 and 4.4% in the fourth quarter. Czech, Polish and Hungarian Purchasing Manager Index figures will show whether economic activity is still on a downward trend. April's numbers all came in below the 50 point threshold that points to declining economic activity. Date GMT Country Indicator Period Forecast Previous May 28 N/A HUN Markets Closed For Pentecost May 29 0930 HUN 3-Month T-Bill Tender N/A 7.15%* May 29 1200 HUN CB Rate Mtg May 7.00%(17) 7.00% May 30 0700 HUN Jobless FebApr 11.6%YY(6) 11.7%YY May 31 0930 HUN Aug '15 Gov Bond Tender N/A 8.22%* May 31 0930 HUN Nov '17 Gov Bond Tender N/A 8.35%* May 31 0930 HUN Jun '22 Gov Bond Tender N/A 8.45%* May 31 0800 POL GDP Growth 1Q 3.6%(17) 4.4% Jun 01 0730 HUN PMI May N/A 46.9 Jun 01 0730 CZE PMI May N/A 49.7 Jun 01 0700 POL PMI May 48.5(7) 49.2 Jun 01 1200 CZE Budget Balance May N/A -CZK44.75B Jun 01 N/A SLV Budget Balance May N/A -EUR1.17B Notes: Numbers in brackets indicate the number of analysts polled by Dow Jones Newswires. N/A indicates "not available" or "not applicable." Some amounts denoted as previous are rounded. * - Average auction yield. -By Patryk Wasilewski and Marton Eder, Dow Jones Newswires; +361-267-0622; marton.eder@dowjones.com (Sean Carney in Prague contributed to this article) (END) Dow Jones Newswires May 25, 2012 10:21 ET (14:21 GMT)