Battered Dollar Gets Reprieve

Money traders temporarily abandoned their assault on the dollar Wednesday after Federal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan and other prominent leaders expressed deep concern about the currency’s health.

After hitting a series of record lows against the Japanese yen and German mark over the past few days, the dollar rose 1.4 percent against the yen and 1.7 percent against the mark in New York trading. It also strengthened against most other key currencies.

The dollar started the day still in a free-fall, declining to 89.39 yen in Tokyo, an all-time low. Later in New York, the dollar fetched 91.33 yen in late trading, up from Tuesday’s 90.05 yen.

The dollar rose to 1.3935 marks in New York from Tuesday’s record low of 1.3702 marks.

Exchange Currency in Dollars Dollar in foreign currency Canada .7097 1.4090 France .2012 4.9690 Germany .7153 1.3980 Great Britain 1.6050 .6231 Japan .010923 91.55