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- BUSINESS, Page 80Business NotesTHE DOLLARThis Time We Really Mean It
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- Since early this summer, the finance ministers of the seven
- leading industrial countries have seemed almost powerless to tame
- the surging U.S. dollar. They agreed the currency was too high and,
- in the long run, threatened to aggravate the U.S. trade deficit.
- But their desultory attempts to push down the greenback prompted
- suspicion that the G-7 group had lost its clout. Last week the
- finance ministers made a concerted effort to bring the dollar down
- by intervening in the currency markets. The U.S. currency fell
- nearly 5% against the yen and about 4% against the deutsche mark
- by week's end.
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- Even so, some currency experts believe that the dollar will
- rise again in the next six weeks to three months, since U.S.
- interest rates remain relatively high compared with levels in Japan
- and West Germany. The prime reason for high U.S. rates is the heavy
- Government borrowing necessary for financing the budget deficit.