Sluggish Economy Hurts Dollar

The dollar slumped further Wednesday, hurt by Federal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan’s remarks about a possible recession and new evidence from the U.S. central bank that showed the economy has weakened.

The Fed’s 12 regional banks released a survey of business conditions showing signs of widespread sluggishness. At the same time, the survey found only mild inflationary pressures.

In late New York trading, the dollar was quoted at 84.05 Japanese yen, down from 84.49 late Tuesday. The dollar also was changing hands in New York at 1.3830 German marks, down from 1.3905.

Exchange Currency in Dollars Dollar in foreign currency Canada .7267 1.3760 France .2055 4.8655 Germany .7194 1.3900 Great Britain 1.6055 .6229 Italy .000612 1634.00 Japan .011864 84.29 Mexico .160385 6.2350