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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.
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