Slovak crown steady vs euro, seen locked in range

    The Slovak crown held steady 
against the euro on Friday and analysts said it would continue 
in its recent tight range with no domestic impetus likely ahead 
of the central bank's meeting next week. 
    At 0850 GMT the crown traded at 34.350 per euro , 
unchanged from Thursday's close and within a band of 
34.200-34.450 seen over the past week. 
    It showed no reaction to remarks by Finance Minister Jan 
Pociatek who told an Austrian daily that the Slovak economy will 
probably grow by 9 percent this year. The ministry's latest 
forecast was 8.1 percent. 
    "The next impulse for the local markets will be Tuesday's 
monetary meeting of the central bank, until then we see 
rangebound trading as likely," Slovenska Sporitelna analyst 
Maria Valachyova said in a note. 
    A Reuters survey showed the central bank (NBS) would hold 
the key two-week repo rate at 4.75 percent for the fifth month 
in a row on Feb. 27. 
    "Should this (no rate change) materialise we might read this 
as an encouragement to trade fresh highs -- a rally to 34 per 
euro -- after the meeting," Lucia Steklacova, senior economist 
at ING in Bratislava wrote in a note. 
    But some traders said potential crown gains might be limited 
by fears of a central bank intervention. The NBS stepped 
directly into the market on Dec. 28 to knock the crown off its 
record peak of 34.050 per euro. 
------------------ MARKET SNAPSHOT AT 0850 GMT ----------------- 
Crown/euro  unchanged vs 34.350 on Thursday 
Crown/dollar   26.165 vs 26.195 (+0.11 pct) 
5-yr govt bond  yield 4.332/4.132 vs 4.300/4.100 pct 
7-yr govt bond  yield 4.204/4.005 vs 4.270/4.168 pct 
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[BRATISLAVA/Reuters/Finance.cz]