By Karol Badohal

WARSAW, May 31 (Reuters) -The Hungarian forint led central European currencies lower on Wednesday as global market sentiment weakened, while Polish inflation slowed more than expected weighing on the zloty.

Weaker economic data from China and expectations for higher rates in the United States pushed up the dollar, whose strength in the past month has weighed heavily on central Europe's currencies and knocked them off recent highs.

Still-high interest rates in central Europe have kept investor flows steady in the region, although markets are expecting interest rate cuts to start later this year. In Hungary, the central bank has already taken a first step for monetary policy easing.

The view for looser policy comes as economies slow due to high prices hitting consumers.

Global data has also hit the outlook in the past week, with Germany, a big trade partner for central Europe, entering recession. On Wednesday, data in China showed manufacturing activity fell more than expected in May.

"There is some risk aversion, some kind of flight to safety," ING Hungary senior economist Peter Virovacz said.

"First of all the overnight Chinese data weren't overall supportive for the global trade ... the other thing is of course the debt ceiling issue in the United States."

By 1002 GMT, the Hungarian forint EURHUF= eased 0.34% to 371.40 against the euro, further slipping from a more than one-year high of 368 hit in mid-May.

The Czech crown was largely flat at 23.7250, and the Polish zloty EURPLN= inched down 0.09% to 4.5440 per euro.

Polish data on Wednesday showed headline inflation eased to its lowest level in over a year, and economists are not ruling out a rate cut by the end of 2023, which markets are pricing. A drop in Polish rates instruments also continued on Wednesday.

Updated gross domestic product data also confirmed a year-on-year fall in the Polish economy, central Europe's biggest, as household demand fades.

Reporting by Karol Badohal in Warsaw, Jason Hovet in Prague and Boldizsar Gyori in Budapest; Editing by Shounak Dasgupta

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