Dollar Gains Against Mark

Rumors that Japan would tolerate a lower dollar sent the U.S. currency spilling to a record low in Asian dealings Tuesday but it recovered later when the Japanese central bank denied the rumors as silly.

The dollar also surged against the mark as dealers took profits on the German currency, which began to retreat against its European counterparts. The mark dropped further after French and German officials agreed that the dollar is undervalued and came out in support of the U.S. currency.

In late New York trading, the dollar was quoted at 89.21 yen, down from 89.31 late Monday. The dollar traded as low as 88.38 yen before recovering, breaching the previous nadir of 88.65 yen in Tokyo on Monday.

Exchange Currency in Dollars Dollars in foreign currency Canada .7133 1.4020 France .2015 4.9640 Germany .7077 1.4130 < Great Britain 1.5855 .6307 Italy .000582 1718.60 Japan .011211 89.20