Weak Economic Data Hurts Dollar

The dollar fell against the German mark Thursday, hurt by Germany’s failure to lower interest rates and a flurry of data that showed the American economy was slowing faster than money traders had anticipated.

The U.S. currency’s weakness came one day after it rose in a powerful advance from large-scale buying by the Federal Reserve and European central banks, which caught traders by surprise.

Many saw an opportunity to sell the dollar Thursday, reasoning that it was warranted by evidence of U.S. economic weakness.

In late New York trading, the dollar was changing hands at 1.4074 marks, down from 1.4145 on Wednesday. The dollar also was quoted at 84.82 yen, up from 84.50 late Wednesday.

Exchange Currency in Dollars Dollar in foreign currency Canada .7284 1.3728 France .2013 4.9670 Germany .7083 1.4118 Great Britain 1.5958 .6266 Italy .000606 1649.20 < Japan .011786 84.85 Mexico .161943 6.1750