Slovak crown firmer ahead of cbank rate meeting

    BRATISLAVA, Sept 26 (Reuters) - The Slovak crown <EURSKK=> 
was a touch firmer against the euro early on Tuesday as the 
market waited to see whether the central bank moves to tighten  
monetary policy at a monthly rate meeting. 
    The crown traded at 37.430 to the euro as of 0800 GMT, up 
from 37.515 late on Monday. 
    "We moved lower (firm), driven by regional banks, but the 
market is awaiting the central bank meeting," one foreign bank 
trader said. 
    The central bank is widely expected to leave interest rates 
unchanged for a second month in a row on Tuesday, with traders 
saying a surprise hike decision would provide a firming signal 
for the currency. 
    Analysts predict the central bank will continue the monetary 
tightening cycle later in the year as it need to quash inflation 
pressure threatening Slovakia's ambition to adopt the euro in 
2009 as planned. 
    The central bank has increased its key two-week repo rate, 
currently at 4.50 percent, by 150 basis points this year. 
----------------MARKET SNAPSHOT AT 0800 GMT------------------- 
Crown/Euro <EURSKK=> 37.430 vs 37.515 (+0.23 pct) on Monday 
Crown/Dollar <SKK=>  29.392 vs 29.387 (-0.02) 
5-yr govt bond <SK5YT=RR> yield 5.003/4.869 vs 5.043/4.741 
9-yr govt bond <SK9YT=RR> yield 4.691/4.610 vs 4.854/4.654 
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 ((Reporting by Martin Santa, editing by Chris Pizzey; 
martin.santa@reuters.com; Reuters Messaging: 
martin.santa.reuters.com@reuters.net; +421-2 5341 8402)) 
  Keywords: MARKETS SLOVAKIA CROWN OPEN