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The Spokesman-Review Newspaper
Spokane, Washington  Est. May 19, 1883

Speculation Boosts Dollar

The dollar hit a 3-1/2-week high against the mark Monday, rallying on currency trader speculation that Germany’s central bank would cut interest rates later this week.

Against the yen, the dollar was mostly steady ahead of this week’s U.S. Treasury auction. Since Japan introduced measures last week to make it easier for big investors to buy foreign securities, currency traders were waiting to see if the Japanese would buy U.S. assets.

“You have the Bundesbank meeting and the Treasury auction coming this week,” said Lynn Tierney, vice president at Shawmut Bank of Boston. “The market is watching both these things closely to see what happens.”

Exchange Currency in Dollars Dollar in foreign currency Canada .7378 1.3553 France .2063 4.8482 Germany .7105 1.4075 Great Britain 1.6025 .6240 Italy .000633 1580.80 Japan .010955 91.28 Mexico .163132 6.1300