The Slovak crown lost about 30 hellers over the past shortened week, the SITA newswire wrote.
It weakened on every day of trading due to a sentiment in the region that was largely influenced by news of the financial crisis in the United States. On March 17, the Slovak currency opened at 32.40 SKK/EUR. Development in the region, plus the unexpected decision by the US Federal Reserve System to cut the discount rate on direct bank loans, slightly weakened the crown to 32.420/32.425 SKK/EUR.
The Czech crown did not help the Slovak currency either. On March 18, the Czech currency weakened as a consequence of statements by the Czech Finance Ministry and central bank officials that they would shield currency from further strengthening. The Czech crown dragged along the Slovak currency, which closed the session several hellers weaker again at 32.45/32.48 SKK/EUR.
Continuing reports of a crisis on the financial markets and expectations
of the Fed's decision caused mixed results on the FOREX market on March 19. The Slovak crown reacted by weakening even more to 32.58/32.60 SKK/EUR. The Slovak currency continued its depreciation trend on the last day of trading in the week, when its exchange rate against the euro weakened to 32.70/32.72 SKK/EUR.
The exchange rate hit a high for the day at 32.78 SKK/EUR. The weakening was caused by lower liquidity before the Easter holiday, which allowed also lower client orders to sell crowns to significantly move the exchange rate. Next week, the development of the Slovak crown will probably be influenced by the region and the financial crisis. A meeting by the National Bank of Slovakia (NBS) Bank Board on March 25 should not bring any change in key interest rates or the market. SITA
Compiled by Zuzana Vilikovská from press reports
The Slovak Spectator cannot vouch for the accuracy of the information presented in its Flash News postings.
