Dollar Surges Higher

The dollar surpassed 125 yen for the first time in more than four years Monday and surged against the mark, powered by the lure of higher U.S. interest rates and optimism over Europe’s single-currency plan.

Eased anxiety over U.S.-Japanese trade friction following Treasury Secretary Robert Rubin’s Tokyo trip and rallying U.S. stock prices also contributed to dollar’s strength.

Demand for dollars shattered the trading ranges that had confined the currency since the industrialized nations decreed two months ago that the dollar’s rebound from its 1995 postwar lows was complete.

Exchange Currency in Dollars Dollar in foreign currency Canada .7211 1.3867 France .1738 5.7530 Germany .5845 1.7109 Great Britain 1.6295 .6137 Italy .000594 1684.00 Japan .007964 125.56 Mexico .126743 7.8900