BUDAPEST, May 8 (Reuters) - Central European currencies mostly gained on Friday, on market optimism over a possible resolution to the Iran war and the Romanian leu bounced from record lows.

The dollar edged down after renewed hostilities broke out between the U.S. and Iran, but U.S. President Donald Trump said the ceasefire was still in effect.

Hungary's forint EURHUF= added 0.2% and was trading at 355.20 to the euro, near a more than 4-year-high where it firmed in the previous session.

The forint has gained more than 8% since the start of the year, making it the best performer among its CEE peers, with the market optimistic over centre-right leader Peter Magyar's incoming government.

Data showed on Friday that Hungary's headline inflation rose to an annual 2.1% in April, slightly above market forecasts, with further increases likely in the months ahead amid growing price pressures from the Iran war.

The National Bank of Hungary warned that inflation could rise to 5% in the second half of the year, exceeding its 2% to 4% tolerance band, due to fuel and energy costs, which could also lift food prices.

"Today's inflation data is unlikely to influence the stance of monetary policymakers in the short term," ING analyst Peter Virovacz wrote.

"However, we would not entirely rule out the possibility of either a rate cut or even a rate hike this year, depending on the direction the geopolitical situation takes and whether the forint has further significant strengthening potential," he said.

On Thursday, the central banks of Poland and the Czech Republic both opened the door to possible rate hikes for the first time since the start of the Iran war in late February. They had left rates unchanged this week.

The Polish zloty EURPLN= eased 0.1% to 4.2295, with investors keeping an eye on the Middle East.

"If there is no positive news on Friday regarding the US-Iran peace agreement, the positive sentiment in markets where investors have been positioning themselves for an optimistic scenario in the Persian Gulf since Tuesday could cool further," PKO Bank wrote in a note.

"In such a case, the EURPLN and USDPLN rates could move towards 4.24 and 3.61, respectively," they said.

The Romanian leu EURRON= was up 0.5%, trading at 5.2400 to the euro, regaining some losses from earlier this week when lawmakers toppled Prime Minister Ilie Bolojan's pro-EU government in a no-confidence vote on Tuesday.

Markets in the Czech Republic were closed for a holiday.

CEE MARKETS SNAPSHOT AT 1045 CET
CURRENCIES		Latest trade	Previous close	Daily change	Change in 2025
Czech crown	EURCZK=	24.3050	24.2950	-0.04%	-0.57%
Hungary forint	EURHUF=	355.2000	355.8000	+0.17%	+8.21%
Polish zloty	EURPLN=	4.2295	4.2255	-0.09%	-0.33%
Romanian leu	EURRON=	5.2400	5.2635	+0.45%	-2.78%
Serbian dinar	EURRSD=	117.3400	117.3900	+0.04%	-0.03%
Note: daily change calculated from 1800 CET
STOCKS		Latest	Previous close	Daily change	Change in 2025
Budapest	.BUX	135899.33	135935.10	-0.03%	+22.40%
Warsaw	.WIG20	3629.57	3529.57	+2.83%	+13.99%
Bucharest	.BETI	28856.51	28534.69	+1.13%	+18.08%
BONDS		Yield (bid)	Yield change	Spread vs Bund	Daily change in spread
Czech Rep 5-year	CZ5YT=RR	4.3810	-0.1090	+168bps	-12bps
Czech Rep 10-year	CZ10YT=RR	4.8030	-0.0330	+180bps	-4bps
Poland 5-year	PL5YT=RR	5.2830	-0.0020	+258bps	-1bps
Poland 10-year	PL10YT=RR	5.5980	-0.0250	+259bps	-3bps
FORWARD RATE AGREEMENTS		3x6	6x9	9x12	3M interbank
Czech Rep	CZKFRA, PRIBOR=	3.79	4.06	4.17	3.56
Poland	PLNFRA, WIBOR=	4.05	4.27	4.45	3.84
Note: FRA quotes are for ask prices