Slovak crown steady, market eyes CPI, global flows

    The Slovak crown was flat 
versus the euro on Monday morning as investors waited for 
inflation data and the mood on global emerging markets to 
provide a new impetus, dealers said. 
    The crown stood at 34.855 per euro  as of 0815 GMT, 
compared with 34.845 late on Friday.  
    The Slovak unit firmed at the end of last week as investors 
returned to emerging markets as expectations of a U.S. interest 
rate hike faded. 
    Analysts said the main domestic factor for the crown will be 
be the release of January inflation data on Friday, which should 
provide some clues on timing of the expected monetary policy 
easing by the Slovak central bank. 
    "Local macro releases could play a slightly supportive role 
for the crown at the end of the week, as inflation might 
surprise the market on the upside (the core CPI measure)," ING 
Bank in Bratislava said in a market note. 
    "However, it is very likely that the global factors will 
dominate again." 
    Analysts in a Reuters poll predicted monthly price growth of 
0.5 percent, for an annual inflation rate of 2.6 percent. Core 
inflation was forecast at 0.6 percent month-on-month and 2.2 
percent year-on-year. 
------------------ MARKET SNAPSHOT AT 0815 GMT ----------------- 
Crown/euro  34.855 vs 34.845 on Thursday 
Crown/dollar   26.870 vs 26.752 
5-yr govt bond  yield 4.302/154 vs 4.305/143 pct 
7-yr govt bond  yield 4.301/150 vs 4.350/219 pct 
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[BRATISLAVA/Reuters/Finance.cz]