Slovak crown hits 1-wk low vs euro on trade, region

    BRATISLAVA, Nov 10 (Reuters) - The Slovak crown weakened to 
a nearly one-week low against the euro on Friday as September 
foreign trade gap soared beyond forecasts and a regional 
correction weighed on the unit, traders said. 
    The crown hit a record high of 36.001 per euro <EURSKK=> on 
Wednesday but fell after the Friday trade data as far as 36.250, 
its softest level since Nov. 6. 
    The currency traded at 36.185 per euro as of 1600 GMT, 0.23 
percent down from 36.100 late on Thursday. 
    "Disappointing trade data is no great surprise after lower 
than expected (industrial) output, but it has knocked the crown 
in early trading," Lucy Bethell, currency strategist at Royal 
Bank of Scotland in London, said in a note. 
    Slovakia's trade deficit jumped to 9.46 billion crowns in 
September as imports remained strong, well above the market 
prediction for a 2.1 billion-crown gap. The shortfall stood at 
2.35 billion crowns in August. 
    The crown ignored the release of October inflation data, 
which showed consumer price growth easing to a 10-month low of 
3.7 percent on the year, touch above analysts predictions. 
    "It (the trade data) should encourage consolidation from 
euro/crown, but with positioning light and no word from the 
central bank, the market will be inclined to sell into any euro 
rallies toward 36.50," Bethell said. 
----------------MARKET SNAPSHOT AT 1600 GMT------------------- 
Crown/Euro <EURSKK=> 36.185 vs 36.100 on Thursday (-0.24 pct) 
Crown/Dollar <SKK=>  28.145 vs 28.208 (+0.22 pct) 
5-yr govt bond <SK5YT=RR> yield unchanged at 4.401/199 pct 
8-yr govt bond <SK8YT=RR> yield 4.339/139 vs 4.328/4.130 
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  ((Reporting by Martin Santa; Reuters Messaging: 
martin.santa.reuters.com@reuters.net; +421 5341 8402)) 
  Keywords: MARKETS SLOVAKIA CROWN CLOSE