Slovak crown at record highs, more gains likely

    BRATISLAVA, Nov 21 (Reuters) - The Slovak crown continued 
firming on Tuesday and touched a record high against the euro, 
driven by bullish sentiment on regional markets with dealers 
predicting more gains in the short run. 
    The crown rose as high as 35.495 per euro before easing back 
to 35.530 <EURSKK=> as of 1530 GMT, slightly firmer from 35.565 
late on Monday. 
    "There is a resistance at 35.500 per euro, but the crown is 
so close so it's likely it will break through," one dealer with 
a foreign bank in Bratislava said. "The level of 35.200 per euro 
will be the next resistance." 
    The currency has been buoyed by a mix of sound mood on 
emerging markets and positive domestic news, such as record 9.8 
percent GDP growth in the third quarter. 
    But some market watchers warned a correction on profit- 
taking could come given the currency's sharp 2.9 percent 
strengthening over the past month. 
    The crown trades now 8.2 percent above its central parity 
within the Exchange Rate Mechanism 2 (ERM 2), which Slovakia 
joined in late November 2005. 
----------------MARKET SNAPSHOT AT 1530 GMT------------------- 
Crown/Euro <EURSKK=> 35.530 vs 35.565 on Monday (+0.09 pct) 
Crown/Dollar <SKK=>  27.715 vs 28.740 (+0.09 pct) 
5-yr govt bond <SK5YT=RR> yield 4.424/226 vs 4.426/4.225 pct 
8-yr govt bond <SK8YT=RR> yield 4.309/108 vs 4.319/4.120 
-------------------------------------------------------------- 
 ((Reporting by Martin Santa, editing by Stephen Nisbet ; 
Reuters Messaging: martin.santa.reuters.com@reuters.net; +421 
5341 8402)) 
  Keywords: MARKETS SLOVAKIA CROWN AFTERNOON