Slovak crown steady after intervention, seen strong

...top against the euro in the previous session, and 
analysts expected investors to test the bank's nerves again. 
    The crown traded at 34.090 per euro as of 0850 GMT, flat 
from Thursday's closing levels . 
    The unit, the best performer in central Europe last year, 
rallied to an all-time peak of 33.800 per euro on Thursday, 
buoyed by Slovakia's record GDP growth and Samsung Electronics' 
decision to site its new LCD panel plant in the country. 
    "We would not exclude that the market will further test the 
central bank's limits," said Slovenska Sporitelna senior analyst 
Maria Valachyova. 
    "Should the crown firm swiftly, we would expect the central 
bank to enter the market again near the levels of 33.7-33.8 per 
euro," she said. 
    The NBS' officials did not comment on Thursday's direct 
intervention, which analysts estimated at around 500 million 
euros, a similar volume as in the bank's previous action on Dec. 
28. 
    The crown had firmed 4.9 percent against the euro in the 
past six-weeks to hit the record levels on Thursday. The 
previous record was 34.050 per euro, seen on Dec. 28. 
    The unit now trades 11.4 percent above its central parity 
rate in the plus/minus 15 percent band within the Exchange Rate 
Mechanism 2 (ERM-2), the euro waiting room, which Slovaks joined 
in November 2005. 
------------------ MARKET SNAPSHOT AT 0850 GMT ----------------- 
Crown/euro  at 34.090 vs 34.080 on Thursday (-0.04 pct) 
Crown/dollar  at 26.925 vs 26.990 (+0.22 pct) 
5-yr govt bond  yield 4.279/4.058  
7-yr govt bond  yield 4.322/4.102  
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