New Bullishness Pushes Dollar Mostly Higher --- An Increase in Interest Rates, Optimism on Economy Lead to U.S. Unit's Gains
The new bullishness for the U.S. dollar that began to jell late last week firmed yesterday as the dollar gained against most other major currencies.</br></br>Traders attributed the increased purchases of dollars to higher U.S. interest rates -- the result of a bond market slump -- and raised expectations for economic growth in the U.S.</br></br>However, traders called the dollar's rise a temporary move in a prolonged decline. "I hesitate to say that we're seeing a turnaround," said Leslie A. Puth, a trader at Credit Suisse, New York. "But it is the first time in a couple of months that we've seen any sustained buying of dollars; that is, over two days," she said.</br></br>By late New York trading, the dollar had risen 1.2% against the West German mark, the bellwether European unit, to 2.0745 marks from 2.0508 Friday. The dollar also rose to 155.96 Japanese yen from 155.70.</br></br>In early trading in Tokyo Tuesday the dollar rose against the Japanese currency to 156.35 yen from 155.96 in New York yesterday afternoon.