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Dollar resumes climb on yen
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June 25, 1998: 5:21 p.m. ET
Dollar rises, bonds end mixed after strong first-quarter GDP report
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NEW YORK (CNNfn) - The dollar resumed its climb against the Japanese yen Thursday as investors put their hopes for a Southeast Asian revival on President Clinton's visit to China and showed renewed skepticism that Tokyo is ready to tackle its economic problems.
The greenback finished at 142.15 yen, up almost a full yen from 141.25 at the start of U.S. trading.
The dollar started the day higher on hopes that Clinton's visit to China will boost trade and possibly help the troubled economies of Southeast Asia on the way to steady growth. Nervous talk of the possibility of future market interventions in support of the yen kept the dollar's gains in check.
China has resisted devaluing its currency, the yuan in the face of a sliding yen, but any further declines in the Japanese currency could force Beijing to devalue the yuan and in turn could trigger a new round of currency turmoil in the region.
Talk that the Federal Reserve was looking at the dollar market rates, a possible signal an intervention could follow, briefly derailed the dollar around midday. But the greenback's climb resumed when the rumor proved false and investors focused on Tokyo's reluctance to take tough action on plagued banking system and help generate economic growth.
The dollar closed barely lower against the German mark, finishing at 1.7880 marks from 1.7985 at the open.
Meanwhile, U.S. Treasury bonds finished narrowly mixed, bouncing late in the day on the strength of the dollar after posting losses earlier after an unexpectedly robust economic report.
News that gross domestic product grew a much stronger-than-expected 5.4 percent in the first quarter, sent some investors out of the bond market, but the losses were held in check as most investors chose to focus on the dollar's nervous gyrations.
The benchmark 30-year Treasury bond rose 8/32 of a point in price, for a yield of 5.64 percent. 
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