950819

Greenback ends mixed

under fear of

intervention

NEW YORK: The dollar closed slightly lower against the mark but was unchanged against the yen in slow trade characterized by fear of central bank intervention.

Currency dealers were concerned that downward move in the dollar would bring a barrage of central bank buying.

At the close, the dollar dipped to 1.4747/57 marks, from the open's 1.4770/75 marks. It also closed at 97.40/45 yen, from 97.40/50 yen at the open.

"What's going on is a cat-and-mouse game between currency traders and central banks," said David DeRosa, a director of foreign exchange trading at Swiss Bank Corp.

"The traders are looking to see whether the central banks give them another signal whether they want the dollar still higher," he added.

On Tuesday, the United States, Japan and Germany rocked the currency market with concerted purchases of the dollar, leaving the market concerned that any jump in the dollar's value could again be the central bank activity.

After dipping Thursday, the dollar held its ground on Friday, giving currency dealers encouragement currency dealers that the upswing was a movement with staying power.

"It looks like a pretty solid perfomance on the week," said Paul Farrell, vice president at Chase Manhattan Bank. "There was an opportunity for the market to break down today. The fact it was able to stabilize itself, I view as positive."

For much of day, the dollar slipped lower against other leading currencies, as dealers adjusted their positions and cashed in their profits from the rally.

Late in the afternoon, the United States announced it would move forward its military exercise in Kuwait to ten days time, a warning to Iraq not to threaten its neighbors, and the dollar regained lost ground.

Still, the movements were muted as many dealers had already closed up shop.

"We weren't really reacting to much of anything today," said Gabriele Schmitt, vice president at Bank of New York.

The dollar stood at 1.2228/38 Swiss francs, down from 1.2350/60 francs at the open, and at Canadian $1.3583/88, down from C$1.3576/81.

Sterling closed at $1.5405/15, down from $1.5405/15 at the open, while the Australian dollar stood at $0.7355/60.At midday, the Morgan Guaranty trade-weighted index stood at 94.3, from 94.8 on Thrsday.-Reuter