CEE MARKETS-Leu hits new low as FX faces pressure, Romania rejects bond tender bids

WARSAW, Oct 1 (Reuters) - The Romanian leu fell to its lowest level against the euro after Romania rejected all bids at a bond auction on Thursday for the first time since April, with other Central Eastern European currencies also slipping, as rising U.S. yields and a stronger dollar hurt investor appetite.

• The global backdrop has been a main driver for central Europe's assets in recent trading, with the region's main reference currency, the euro, at its lowest in 17 months and US Treasury yields showing their biggest quarterly rise since 1994.

• With market moves and an ongoing political stalemate at home, Romania's debt managers refrained from selling any July 2031 bonds at a Thursday tender, central bank data showed, after it had planned to sell 500 million lei ($106.95 million) of the paper.

• Romania last tendered the bonds in September at an average yield of 6.77%; it previously rejecting bids at tenders in March and April after the Middle East conflict started.

• The Romanian leu was down more than 1.1% against the euro, trading at 5.33 at 1244 GMT.

• Romanian Prime Minister-designate Siegfried Muresan failed to win a parliamentary vote of confidence on Wednesday, extending an impasse. President Nicusor Dan said he will nominate a new prime minister by next Monday.

• Romania's failure to install a new government has intensified pressure on its investment-grade credit rating, as the five-month political impasse collides with a rapid build-up of public debt that is testing the limits of fiscal sustainability.

• "The key test will be (rating agency) S&P's sovereign rating review on Friday," ING wrote in a note.

• Hungary, meanwhile, sold three sets of bonds at a total value of 74 billion forints, above an initial offering of 55 billion forints, with the 10-year benchmark yield at 5.82%

• The Hungarian forint was down 0.26% at 367.30 per euro, while the Polish zloty eased 0.2% to 4.3720 per euro, with both currencies under pressure over the past month.

• Still, the forint remained the region's top performer so far this year, buoyed by the pro-European stance of Hungarian Prime Minister Peter Magyar, who took power in May and put euro adoption back on the agenda.

• Elsewhere the Czech crown <EURCZK=> eased 0.14% against the euro to 24.4660, and was close to testing the 24.50 level it last touched in April.

($1 = 4.6751 lei)