Slovakia - Factors To Watch on Aug 17

...central bank will release its weekly foreign currency 
reserves data at 1200 GMT. 
     
    EURO SEMINAR 
    The finance ministry will hold a regular seminar on the euro 
adoption process in the retail sector, 0700 GMT. 
     
    INFLATION RECORD LOW IN JULY, RATES SEEN FLAT 
    Cheaper food drove Slovak inflation to a record low of 1.2 
percent year on year in July, data showed on Thursday, but the 
market expected no monetary policy reaction to the fall in 
consumer prices. 
    [ID:nL16900845] [RTRS-MCE-ECI-SK] 
    [ID:nL16619086] [RTRS-MCE-ECI-SK] 
     
    C.BANK SAYS JULY INFLATION BELOW FORECAST 
    Slovak EU-norm inflation was below the central bank's (NBS) 
forecast in July, but it could accelerate slightly in August, 
the NBS said on Thursday. 
    [ID:nPRG000462] [RTRS-MCE-ECI-CEN-SK] 
     
    CROWN HITS 7-WK LOWS VS EURO, SEEN WEAK 
    The Slovak crown weakened to seven-week lows against the 
euro on Thursday as global investors continued to cut exposure 
to high-yielding risky assets. Dealers expect the unit to stay 
under pressure in the short run. 
    [ID:nL16318101] [RTRS-MMT-FRX-SK] 
     
    JULY JOBLESS HITS RECORD LOW 
    Slovakia's unemployment rate fell to an all-time low of 8.30 
percent in July, down from 8.33 percent seen in June, the Labour 
Office said on Thursday. 
    [ID:nL16443374] [RTRS-MCE-JOB-SK] 
     
    PRESS DIGEST 
    ------------ 
    BUDGET DEBATE 
    The Agriculture, HealthCare, Social Affairs and 
Transportation ministries criticised the Finance Ministry's 2008 
state budget draft proposal, saying proposed funds for 
individual ministries are too low. 
    Sme, page 7 
     
    FOOD PRICES 
    Higher prices of grains, suffering from long-lasting 
droughts, are likely to push food prices up, Agriculture 
Minister Miroslav Jurena said. 
    Sme, page 7 
     
    SMER KEEPS LEAD IN POLL 
    The Smer party of Prime Minister Robert Fico has kept its 
lead in August, taking 42.8 percent in a Statistics Office 
opinion poll. The far-right Nationalists had 12.9 percent and 
the HZDS party of Vladimir Meciar 10.7 percent support. 
    Both are governing coalition partners of Smer. 
    Pravda, page 1 
     
    For news on upcoming events in the United States and other 
Group of Seven countries, see . For a diary of 
`forthcoming Slovak events, double click [SK/DIARY], and a 
calendar of east European economic indicators, see [CONV/DIARY]. 
     
    News editor of the day: Alan Crosby on +421 2 5341 8402; 
fax: +421 2 5341 8403 
    E-mail: editorial@reuters.sk 
    Reuters Messaging: alan.crosby.reuters.com@reuters.net 
     
    For real-time index quotes, double click in brackets: 
    Warsaw WIG20   Budapest BUX   Prague PX50 
 
 Other related news: 
 Slovak equities      [SK-E]  E.Europe equities           [.CEE] 
 Slovak money         [SK-M]  Czech debt                  [CZ-D] 
 Slovak Indicators  [SK-ECI]  Emerging forex          [EMRG/FRX] 
 Eastern European     [EEU]   All emerging markets        [EMRG] 
 Hot stocks           [HOT]   Stock markets                [STX] 
 Market debt news     [DBT]   Forex news                   [FRX] 
 TOP NEWS -- Emerging markets                         [TOP/EMRG] 
 TOP NEWS -- Convergence watch                        [TOP/EAST] 
  
  
 ($1=24.98 Slovak Crown) 
  

[BRATISLAVA/Reuters/Finance.cz]