Dollar’s Drop Erases ‘97 Advance

The dollar lost the remnants of its 1997 gain against the yen Thursday, dropping for the ninth straight day despite comments by senior Japanese officials suggesting the U.S. currency has fallen enough. The dollar ended mixed in other foreign-exchange dealings.

Traders said remarks Thursday by Treasury Secretary Robert Rubin reaffirming the United States wants a strong dollar may have helped stabilize the currency temporarily.

But Rubin also said he wasn’t concerned by the dollar’s daily or weekly movements, which suggested it could depreciate further.

Exchange Currency in Dollars Dollar in foreign currency Canada .7287 1.3724 France .1751 5.7110 Germany .5887 1.6988 Great Britain 1.6426 .6088 Italy .000598 1672.00 Japan .008613 116.10 Mexico .126791 7.8870