Coronavirus – Hungarian currency hits record low against euro – UPDATE

The Hungarian forint has weakened to over 345 against the euro on Monday, hitting a new historical low.

“The forint weakened as far as 345 to the euro in the afternoon on Monday, a new historical low,” Hungarian news agency MTI reported.

The currency weakened after the Hungarian government announced further restrictions to contain the spread of the novel coronavirus, saying the budget would have to be redrafted in order to safeguard the Hungarian economic growth.

Hungarian economic and financial news portal Portfolio explained that the reason behind the sudden fall of the local currency was due to a move by the central bank.

“The Hungarian central bank (MNB) has today taken a number of measures to support companies facing or potentially facing difficulties due to the coronavirus epidemic,” Portfolio commented, adding “MNB also called on banks to apply a moratorium on repayments of loans to companies in view of the extraordinary situation.”

Source: Xinhua/MTI