Slovak crown slightly firmer, awaits rate verdict

    The Slovak crown was slightly 
stronger against the euro in early trade on Wednesday as 
investors waited for a central bank decision on interest rates. 
    The crown traded at 34.840 to the euro  at 0830 
GMT, from 34.890 late on Tuesday. 
    The Slovak unit has eased from record highs of 34.620 per 
euro in the past week after central bank Governor Ivan Sramko 
said its recent firming had been too fast and that the crown had 
risen beyond levels justified by economic fundamentals. 
    The market expects the central bank to keep the key two-week 
repo rate unchanged at 4.75 percent at its monthly policy 
meeting on Wednesday, but traders said the crown could get  
fresh impetus if central bankers commented on the exchange rate. 
    "Today, the focus will be on the central bank's statement, 
and any reiteration of concerns related to the recent crown 
rally," ING Bank wrote in a market note. 
    ING added the crown could ease to 35.0 per euro if the 
central bank expressed more worries about crown strength. 
----------------MARKET SNAPSHOT AT 0830 GMT------------------- 
Crown/Euro  34.850 vs 34.890 on Tuesday (+0.11 pct) 
Crown/Dollar  26.350 vs 26.490 (+0.53 pct) 
5-yr govt bond  yield unchanged at 4.350/4.151 
8-yr govt bond  yield 4.150/3.990 pct vs 4.358/4.158 
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[BRATISLAVA/Reuters/Finance.cz]