EMERGING MARKETS-Romanian leu hits two-week low as markets await rate decision; EM assets flat

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EM stocks and currencies flat

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S. Africa unemployment rate falls to 31.4% in Q4

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Romania's monetary policy decision due later

By Pranav Kashyap

Feb 17 (Reuters) - Most emerging market stocks and currencies were little changed on Tuesday in a holiday-thinned week, with attention turning to Romania's interest-rate decision later in ?the day.

Trading was subdued after a U.S. holiday on ?Monday drained volumes, while several Asian markets stayed shut. The MSCI emerging markets equity index and the EM currency gauge were both flat.

In central ?and eastern Europe, the Romanian leu slid to a more than two-week low, compared with the ?euro, and has lagged regional peers so far this year. Bucharest shares jumped ?1% on the day ?and were up about 16% this year.

Romania's central bank is widely expected to keep rates on hold at 6.5%, but ?the decision comes at an awkward juncture as inflation starts ?to cool, while the country wrestles with the EU's widest fiscal deficit, with a budget still not in place.

Romania also tipped into a technical recession in ?the fourth quarter, and its sovereign rating remains ?at the lowest investment-grade ?rung.

"The central bank will have to wait a little longer, as inflation should ease in the middle of the year due to the base effect from last year," said ?Frantisek Taborsky, EMEA FX & FI strategist at ING.

"Today's meeting will also bring a new forecast ?and inflation report, where we will look for signs of dovishness."

Elsewhere in the region, Hungarian stocks slid 1.1% to a near one-month low, while Polish shares fell 0.8% to their weakest level in over two weeks.

On the political front, U.S. President Donald Trump is committed to the success of Hungarian Prime ?Minister ?Viktor Orban because his leadership and rapport with Trump are crucial to U.S. interests, ?U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio said on Monday, as he aimed to deepen cooperation with ?Central Europe.

Turkish stocks, up about 26% so far this year, eased 0.1% from record highs. The Turkish central bank's total reserves likely rose by $4.3 billion last week to $212 billion, bankers said, helped in part by a roughly $2 billion boost from higher gold prices.

Emerging markets now face a packed calendar of key data, including inflation readings from South Africa, Russia, Malaysia, India and the United States.

"Markets remained broadly stable despite ongoing sector rotation and mixed macroeconomic signals," ?said Michael Lok, Group CIO and Co-CEO asset management at UBP.

The South African rand slipped 0.3% after the country's official unemployment rate fell to 31.4% in the fourth quarter of 2025.

For TOP NEWS across ?emerging markets

For CENTRAL EUROPE market report, see

For ?TURKISH market report, see

For RUSSIAN market report, see (Reporting by Pranav Kashyap ?in Bengaluru; Editing by Anil D'Silva)