Uncertainty Drags Dollar Down

The dollar fell against most major currencies Thursday as continued uncertainty about European monetary union strengthened the German mark and the Swiss franc.

The dollar was held to a slight loss against the mark as traders awaited a weekend European summit aimed at resolving doubts about the future of a single currency.

Japanese investors meanwhile faced a weekend of reconciling the quarter’s books and had little reason to buy dollars, allowing the greenback to slip.

In late New York trading, the dollar ended at 99.35 Japanese yen, down from 100.46 yen Wednesday. It also fell to 1.4205 German marks from 1.4248 marks.

Exchange Currency in Dollars Dollar in foreign currency

Canada .7403 1.3508

France .2040 4.9030

Germany .7037 1.4210

Great Britain 1.5795 .6331

Italy .000623 1605.80

Japan .010048 99.52

Mexico .156372 6.3950