Traders Lose Bet And Dollar Wins

The dollar seesawed in global foreign exchange trading before shooting higher Friday on news of an agreement among European Union finance ministers to stabilize the planned euro currency.

New hope for a viable euro currency undermined the mark. Traders who had incorrectly bet on a falling dollar scrambled to buy the U.S. currency to minimize losses.

That pushed the dollar even higher in what’s known as a short-covering rally.

In late New York trading, the dollar cost 1.5558 marks, up sharply from 1.5423 Thursday. The dollar cost 113.95 yen, up from 113.27. The pound cost $1.6554, down from $1.6576.