Dollar Loses Ground Again

The dollar dropped against most key currencies Thursday, weakening after the German central bank failed to cut interest rates and a U.S.-Japan trade fight escalated over photographic film.

But traders said volume was light, exaggerating the impact of currency movements. Many noted that the dollar’s recent strength had made it vulnerable to a sell-off, and that the longer-term trend for the dollar is up.

“Basically, what happened today was more of an excuse to sell the dollar,” said Seth Cohen, a director of foreign exchange trading at Merrill Lynch & Co. in New York.

Exchange Currency in Dollars Dollar in foreign currency

Canada .7308 1.3684

France .1931 5.1795

Germany .6550 1.5267

Great Britain 1.5347 .6516

Italy .000648 1544.00

Japan .009195 108.75

Mexico .131666 7.5950