Dollar Closes Mostly Higher

The dollar closed mostly higher in foreign exchange dealings Thursday, reflecting a widespread reluctance by traders to do any speculative selling as the summit of big industrialized nations convened.

The so-called G-7 nations have pledged their commitment to a stable U.S. currency, and backed that up with a coordinated mass purchase of dollars last month that caught many money traders who had sold dollars off guard.

The dollar also was helped by traders who earlier had sold the dollar short, or bet the currency would fall, and were fearful they had erred.

In late New York trading, the dollar was quoted at 85.53 Japanese yen, up from 84.34 late Wednesday.

Canada .7254 1.3785 France .2024 4.9400 Germany .7089 1.4107 Great Britain 1.5955 .6268 Italy .000606 1650.50 Japan .011809 84.68 Mexico .162470 6.1550