BUDAPEST, May 21 (Reuters) - Central European currencies eased on Thursday morning, after late gains on Wednesday on optimism that the Middle East conflict could soon be resolved, while investors in Poland eyed local economic data.

"Yesterday afternoon, the Hungarian forint started to strengthen due to some optimism surrounding the situation in Iran, but we are still hovering close to the decisive level of 360," brokerage Equilor said in a note.

The war in Iran , which began with U.S. and Israeli air strikes on February 28, has lifted energy prices and fuelled inflation concerns across Europe, including in Central Europe's emerging economies. President Donald Trump on Wednesday said the United States was ready to proceed with further attacks if Iran did not agree to a peace deal, but suggested Washington could wait a few days to "get the right answers."

The forint EURHUF= eased 0.2% to 360.60 to the euro, and stayed close to the 360 level. It has retreated slowly since hitting a high of 353.95 on May 8 after a change in government in Hungary which boosted investor sentiment.

Investors hope the new centre-right government of Prime Minister Peter Magyar can unlock EU funds held up in past disputes with Brussels. This has fuelled fund flows into the forint and Hungarian bonds.

The Polish zloty EURPLN= was also down slightly at 4.251 to the euro and the Czech crown EURCZK= a touch lower at 24.318 per euro.

Polish bank PKO BP analysts said domestic investors would focus on April data from the Polish economy, "which will indicate, among other things, the impact of high fuel and energy prices on industrial conditions."

Wage growth in Poland was lower than expected in April, the statistics office data showed, with analysts saying this signalled that there is currently no risk of sustained inflation despite the shock to fuel prices caused by the war in the Middle East.

The statistics office data also showed that industrial output rose less than expected.

Stock markets in central Europe were mixed, with Warsaw .WIG20 falling.

CEE MARKETS SNAPSHOT AT 0931 CET
CURRENCIES		Latest trade	Previous close	Daily change	Change in 2026
Czech crown	EURCZK=	24.3180	24.2960	-0.09%	-0.62%
Hungary forint	EURHUF=	360.6000	359.8000	-0.22%	+6.59%
Polish zloty	EURPLN=	4.2510	4.2450	-0.14%	-0.83%
Romanian leu	EURRON=	5.2470	5.2400	-0.13%	-2.91%
Serbian dinar	EURRSD=	117.3000	117.4000	+0.09%	+0.00%
Note: daily change calculated from 1800 CET
STOCKS		Latest	Previous close	Daily change	Change in 2026
Prague	.PX	2574.21	2563.9900	+0.40%	-4.15%
Budapest	.BUX	131452.98	131460.20	-0.01%	+18.39%
Warsaw	.WIG20	3573.54	3610.70	-1.03%	+12.23%
Bucharest	.BETI	30779.13	30658.63	+0.39%	+25.94%
BONDS		Yield (bid)	Yield change	Spread vs Bund	Daily change in spread
Czech Rep 2-year	CZ2YT=RR	4.1900	-0.0120	+155bps	-1bps
Czech Rep 5-year	CZ5YT=RR	4.5840	-0.0130	+180bps	+0bps
Czech Rep 10-year	CZ10YT=RR	5.0060	-0.0200	+192bps	-1bps
Poland 2-year	PL2YT=RR	4.6350	-0.0700	+199bps	-7bps
Poland 5-year	PL5YT=RR	5.5150	-0.0450	+274bps	-3bps
Poland 10-year	PL10YT=RR	5.9570	0.0180	+287bps	+3bps
FORWARD RATE AGREEMENTS		3x6	6x9	9x12	3M interbank
Czech Rep	CZKFRA, PRIBOR=	3.83	4.22	4.43	3.56
Poland	PLNFRA, WIBOR=	4.06	4.43	4.73	3.85
Note: FRA quotes are for ask prices