Slovak crown near 3-mo top vs euro, eyes Almunia

...session, as the market awaited European 
Union comments on Slovakia's euro adoption prospects. 
    At 0710 GMT, the crown was at 33.150 per euro , 
after closing at a three-month peak of 33.100 on Monday. 
    EU Commissioner for Economic and Monetary Affairs, Joaquin 
Almunia, will hold a news conference in Bratislava at 0750 GMT. 
    Analysts expect Almunia to clarify the EU's attitude towards 
Slovakia's bid to adopt the euro in 2009, after a European 
Central Bank (ECB) memo caused concerns in the market. 
    "Assuming that Almunia doesn't say anything that would be 
read as a signal that Slovakia's euro zone entry in 2009 is at 
risk, I expect the crown to firm further against the euro," said 
4Cast analyst Piotr Matys. 
    The ECB memo, obtained by Reuters in June, said Slovakia 
should not count on automatic fulfilment of the inflation 
criterion for euro zone entry even if its inflation rate is 
below the reference level, as it would have to prove that low 
price growth was sustainable. 
    The ECB staff also said in the memo that Slovakia should  
tighten fiscal policy at a time of fast economic growth. 
    The crown has gained over 4 percent against the euro since 
mid-June and moved closer to record highs of 32.710 from March. 
The March jump had triggered interventions by the central bank 
(NBS) to slow the unit's advance. 
-----------------MARKET SNAPSHOT AT 0710 GMT------------------- 
Crown/Euro  33.150 vs 33.100 on Monday (-0.15 pct) 
Crown/Dollar  24.008 vs 23.995 (-0.05 pct)  
5-yr govt bond  yield 4.607/4.387 vs 4.668/4.487 pct 
7-yr govt bond  yield 4.844/4.625 vs 4.750/4.550 pct 
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