Dollar Continues to Rally Despite Selling by the Fed
NEW YORK, June 15-Specula-tors gave the dollarÛªs rally a fresh push today in advance of a report Thursday on the U.S. trade deficit.</br></br>The rally gained strength late in the day after wavering in trading abroad. The U.S. currency soared past 2.03 West German marks despite attempts by the Federal Reserve to keep it below that level by selling dollars.</br></br>"To be short dollars these days is like committing suicide,Û said Gary Lutnick, a currency trader at Banco di Sicilia in New York.</br></br>Since the end of April the dollar has risen 13 percent against the Japanese yen, 8 percent against the West German mark and 11 percent against the British pound.</br></br>The strong dollar increases the spending power of AmericansÛª money but could hurt the economy in the long run by making U.S.-made goods more expensive in world markets, worsening the trade deficit.