Koruna Stable On Election Day

EUR/CZK trades at CZK24.031 at typing, little changed on the day, with local front pages dominated by a presidential election, as the polling stations are due to open shortly.

• Opinion polls pointed to a tight race between Andrej Babis, Petr Pavel and Danuse Nerudova, which means two of these candidates will likely advance to a run-off. The election is closely watched even as the Czech President's prerogatives are rather limited and include the power to veto legislation (can be overruled by 50% of lawmakers) and appoint some senior public officials, such as Constitutional Court judges and CNB Bank Board members.
• On the data front, Czechia's current account deficit unexpectedly widened to CZK39.30bn in November from CZK34.76bn prior versus. The consensus estimate was a CZK26.00bn shortfall.
• The general technical picture remains unchanged from the previous update. Bears look for losses past Jan 9 cycle low of CZK23.927, while bulls take aim at the 50-DMA at CZK24.243.