Slovak crown matches record peak vs euro, seen up

    BRATISLAVA, Nov 30 (Reuters) - The Slovak crown <EURSKK=> 
matched on Thursday a record peak of 35.450 against the euro, 
hit in the previous session, and dealers said the sound regional 
mood may push the unit even stronger in the short run. 
    At 0850 GMT, the crown was quoted at 35.475 per euro, 
compared with 35.480 late on Wednesday. 
    "Positive sentiment towards the central and eastern European 
region affected also the Slovak crown, which marked a new 
historic high yesterday at 35.450 per euro, at which it opened 
also this morning," Slovenska Sporitelna analyst Maria 
Valachyova said in a research note. 
    The Slovak unit has firmed 5.3 percent over the past two 
months, driven by bullish sentiment on emerging markets and 
Slovakia's sound economic fundamentals confirmed by a record 9.8 
percent GDP growth in the third quarter. 
    The strong crown backs the central bank's (NBS) fight 
against inflation, tightening monetary conditions. The NBS left 
interest rates unchanged for a second consecutive month this 
week. 
    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 0850 GMT------------------- 
Crown/Euro <EURSKK=> 35.475 vs 35.480 on Wednesday (+0.01 pct) 
Crown/Dollar <SKK=> 26.903 vs 26.938 (+0.13 pct) 
5-yr govt bond <SK5YT=RR> yield unchanged at 4.399/4.200 pct 
8-yr govt bond <SK8YT=RR> yield 4.260/4.150 vs 4.299/4.100 pct 
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  ((Reporting by Martin Santa, editing by Cheryl Juckes; Reuters 
Messaging: martin.santa.reuters.com@reuters.net; +421 5341 
8402)) 
  Keywords: MARKETS SLOVAKIA CROWN MORNING