Slovak crown touches 3-mo high vs euro, eyes Fed

...meetings in Slovakia and the United States later this week, 
dealers said. 
    At 1530 GMT, the crown was at 33.230 per euro , 
compared with 33.170, its strongest level since July 25, seen 
earlier in the session. It closed at 33.275 on Friday. 
    "There are investors, who see potential for stronger 
emerging currencies," said VUB Bank dealer Laco Benedek. 
    "(But) there was a solid interest to buy the hard currency 
below 33.200 and we now see profit taking also on the Polish 
zloty ahead of the Fed meeting." 
    The Federal Reserve, which meets on Oct. 30-31, is expected 
to lower borrowing costs by at least 25 basis points to 4.50 
percent to ensure that a housing downturn and tighter credit 
conditions do not push the U.S. economy into recession. 
    "If the Fed surprises with a 50 basis-point cut, the crown 
might go towards 33.0 per euro," said Tatra Banka dealer Boris 
Somorovsky. 
    Dealers said the crown was not likely to react to the 
outcome of the Slovak central bank's (NBS) policy meeting on 
Tuesday, if the bank leaves the key two-week repo rate at 4.25 
percent for the sixth month running, as widely expected. 
    NBS policymakers have said there is no need for higher rates 
despite resurgent inflation due to the strong crown, but 
expected an upward revision of the bank's inflation forecast. 
    The crown has gained 4 percent against the euro this year, 
and reached a record high of 32.710 in March. 
 --------------- MARKET SNAPSHOT AT 1535 GMT ------------------- 
 Crown/euro at 33.230 vs 33.275 on Friday (+0.14 pct) 
 Crown/dollar  unchanged at 23.055 bid 
 5-yr bond yld due Mar 2012  at 4.67 pct bid vs 4.50 
10-yr bond yld due April 2017  unchanged at 4.73 pct 
 --------------------------------------------------------------- 
  

[BRATISLAVA/Reuters/Finance.cz]