Slovak crown eases back after jump, seen in range

    BRATISLAVA, Sept 18 (Reuters) - The Slovak crown <EURSKK=> 
closed little changed to the euro on Monday after investors took 
quick profits from a jump early in the session, dealers said. 
    The Slovak unit ended at 37.430 to the euro, down from the 
session's high of 37.340 but only slightly changed from 37.455 
at Thursday's close. The market was closed on Friday for a 
national holiday. 
    "The attention now turns to the state budget. In the short 
term, the crown's trend will depend on regional sentiment," said 
VUB Bank dealer Laco Benedek. 
    Dealers expected the crown to move between 37.300 and 37.500 
against the euro in the next few days. 
    The cabinet of leftist Prime Minister Robert Fico is in the 
final phase of preparing the 2007 state budget, and it must 
submit the fiscal draft to the parliament by October 15. 
    The government has locked the deficit ceiling at 3.0 percent 
of GDP, the threshold for adopting the euro, but the markets are 
waiting to see whether revenue projections and spending plans 
are in line with its ambition to enter the euro zone in 2009. 
----------------MARKET SNAPSHOT AT 1435 GMT------------------- 
Crown/Euro <EURSKK=> 37.430 vs 37.455 (-0.07 pct) on Thursday 
Crown/Dollar <SKK=>  29.498 vs 29.354 (-0.56 pct) 
5-yr govt bond <SK5YT=RR> yield 5.045/4.736 vs 4.887/4.587 
9-yr govt bond <SK9YT=RR> yield 4.925/4.726 vs 4.784/4.585 
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 ((Reporting by Martin Santa, editing by David 
Christian-Edwards; martin.santa@reuters.com; Reuters Messaging: 
martin.santa.reuters.com@reuters.net; +421-2 5341 8402)) 
  Keywords: MARKETS SLOVAKIA CROWN CLOSE