
                         Roanoke Times
                 Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: TUESDAY, April 20, 1993                   TAG: 9304200210
SECTION: BUSINESS                    PAGE: 1   EDITION: METRO 
SOURCE: The Washington Post
DATELINE: TOKYO                                LENGTH: Short

SURGE IN YEN PUTS DOLLAR AT NEW LOW

Yet another record-smashing surge in the yen alarmed Japanese officials and industrialists Monday, amid fears that the United States is deliberately driving the currency higher to give American companies a quick boost in international competition.

The yen soared to a postwar record of 110.70 against the dollar in Tokyo trading before the dollar rallied slightly, with the yen closing at 111.00. Later Monday, the dollar edged lower in New York trading, closing at 111.10.

The Japanese currency now stands about 11 percent higher than it did at the beginning of the year, which means Japanese products are that much more expensive in relation to the American competition.

Almost entirely responsible for the latest rise, traders said, was a remark President Clinton made Friday at a joint news conference with Japanese Prime Minister Kiichi Miyazawa. Clinton said the rise of the yen was "number one" on a list of the "things working today which may give us more results" in shrinking Japan's huge trade surplus and America's trade deficit.

The Bank of Japan intervened several times by buying dollars to stem the yen's rise, traders said, but its effectiveness was severely limited; it was operating without cooperation from other central banks.

Isao Yonekura, vice chairman of the Keidanren, Japan's most influential big-business group, warned that the appreciation of the yen "could throw cold water on the Japanese economy" just at a time when the Clinton administration is seeking a strong recovery in the hope of selling more U.S. goods here.

by CNB