Slovak crown hits record high vs euro, seen strong

    BRATISLAVA, Nov 29 (Reuters) - The Slovak crown firmed 0.4 
percent to hit a record high of 35.465 against the euro on 
Wednesday, and dealers expected more gains in the short term if 
foreign capital keeps flowing into emerging markets. 
    At 1445 GMT, the unit was quoted at 35.480 per euro, 
compared with 35.610 late on Tuesday. Its previous record was 
35.495 seen on Nov. 21. 
    "The crown was traded around 35.500 per euro, when a one-off 
sale of euros, which was not a big amount, pushed it below," 
said Tatra Banka trader Boris Somorovsky. "The maximum level was 
35.465." 
    The crown has gained 5.3 percent against the euro over the 
past two months, helping the central bank (NBS) in its fight to 
curb inflation. The NBS held the key repo rate at 4.75 percent 
on Tuesday, for the second month in a row. 
    "There is a tendency to go firmer. We may go towards 35.300 
per euro with foreign regional players having the main 
influence," Somorovsky said. 
    The crown, the best performing currency in central Europe 
this year, is now trading 8.4 percent above its central parity 
within the Exchange Rate Mechanism 2 (ERM 2), the precursor to 
euro that Slovakia joined in November last year. 
----------------MARKET SNAPSHOT AT 1445 GMT------------------- 
Crown/Euro <EURSKK=> 35.480 vs 35.610 on Tuesday (+0.36 pct) 
Crown/Dollar <SKK=>  26.938 vs 27.100 (+0.58 pct) 
5-yr govt bond <SK5YT=RR> yield 4.399/4.200 vs 4.400/4.199 pct 
8-yr govt bond <SK8YT=RR> yield 4.299/4.100 vs 4.280/4.140 pct 
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 ((Reporting by Martin Dokoupil, editing by Chris Pizzey; 
Reuters Messaging: martin.dokoupil.reuters.com@reuters.net; +421 
5341 8402)) 
  Keywords: MARKETS SLOVAKIA CROWN AFTERNOON