Slovak crown touch firmer ahead cbank rate meeting

...in a range ahead of the central 
bank's (NBS) decision on interest rates next week. 
    The crown stood at 33.780 per euro  as of 0920 GMT, 
after floating in a narrow range of 33.750-33.850 on Thursday. 
It closed at 33.815 in the previous session. 
    "The crown will continue following global market 
developments, especially given the absence of domestic impulses 
in the run-up to the central bank meeting next week," KBC bank 
wrote in a market note. 
    "We expect the currency to remain rangebound in a balanced 
trading," it said. 
    The NBS is widely expected to stay put on June 26, leaving 
the key two-week repo rate at 4.25 percent for the second month 
in a row. Some analysts said Slovak rates will stay flat until 
the planned euro adoption in 2009. 
    "The rhetoric (of the central bank) is expected to be 
neutral as well, despite a downside surprise in May inflation," 
ING Bank wrote in a market note. 
    Slovakia's EU-norm inflation fell to a record low of 1.5 
percent in May, but analysts said external inflationary threats 
and prospects of higher interest rates in the euro zone would 
freeze the central bank's hands for now. 
----------------MARKET SNAPSHOT AT 0920 GMT------------------- 
Crown/Euro  33.780 vs 33.815 on Thursday (+0.11 pct) 
Crown/Dollar  25.159 vs 25.217 (+0.23 pct)  
5-yr govt bond  yield 4.674/4.476 vs 4.513/4.213 pct 
7-yr govt bond  yield unchanged at 4.750/4.550 pct 
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