Slovak crown softer on emerging market jitters

...dealers said more near-term losses appeared likely.

The crown was at 33.930 per euro at 0800 GMT, compared with 33.890 per euro late on Tuesday.

"The mood on emerging (markets) is not very positive," one dealer with a foreign bank in Bratislava said. "There is no prospect of any significant crown firming. We might test the 34.0 per euro level if global sentiment holds."

Emerging markets have been under pressure recently due to expectations that U.S. interest rates will not fall soon, or may even rise further.

The crown fell as far as 33.980 per euro on Tuesday after a leaked ECB memo cast doubt on whether Slovakia can hold its inflation rate below the level required for it to adopt the euro in 2009.

"If euro adoption was delayed due to any reason, at least some investors would probably close their positions and the crown would weaken significantly," Slovenska Sporitelna wrote in a market note. "On the other hand, euro adoption in 2009 as planned, which we expect, is consistent with appreciation of the crown." -----------------MARKET SNAPSHOT AT 0800 GMT------------------- Crown/Euro 33.930 vs 33.890 on Tuesday (-0.11 pct) Crown/Dollar 25.250 vs 25.175 (-0.30 pct) 5-yr govt bond yield 4.701/4.499 vs 4.533/4.233 pct 7-yr govt bond yield 4.750/4.572 vs 4.749/4.549 pct --------------------------------------------------------------