Dollar Soars To Four-Month High

The dollar soared more than 3 percent against the yen to a 4-1/2 month high Wednesday on a joint dollar-buying spree by the United States and Japan that surprised the currency markets.

The size of the joint intervention wasn’t clear, but Treasury Secretary Robert Rubin took the unusual step of confirming that both countries were buying dollars and selling yen in order to boost the U.S. currency’s value.

In late New York trading, the dollar was quoted at 90.95 yen, up from 88.05 late Tuesday. At one point the dollar hit 91.01 yen. This was the highest level for the dollar since mid-March.

Exchange Currency in Dollars Dollar in foreign currency Canada .7376 1.3557 France .2076 4.8180 Germany .7156 1.3975 Great Britain 1.5995 .6252 Italy .000631 1584.50 Japan .011008 90.84 Mexico .163666 6.1100