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Dollar falls vs mark

NEW YORK: The dollar drifted lower against the mark, but held steady versus the yen as the market was attuned to the potential of central bank intervention.

The market was abuzz with rumors the Bank of Japan would protect the 91.00 yen level, and this talk was complemented by Japanese institutional interest to sell the yen.

At midday, the dollar slipped to 1.3930/35 marks, down from 1.3970/80 marks at the open. It stood virtually unchanged at 91.19/24 yen, from the open's 91.19/26 yen.

The dollar lost the upward momentum of early trade when the July payrolls data came out weaker than expected.

July payrolls grew by 55,000, lower than the market forcasts of 111,000, while the June data was revised higher to 250,000. The unemployment rate rose to 5.7 percent.

In other midday trade, the dollar stood at 1.1500/07, down from 1.1553/60 Swiss francs at the open. it dipped to Canadian $1.3558/63, down from $1.3563/68.

Sterling changed hands at $1.6073/83, up from $1.6023/30.-Reuter