U.S. monetary authorities sold $2.9 billion in...

U.S. monetary authorities sold $2.9 billion in the foreign exchange markets to restrain the dollar’s rise in the May-July period, the Federal Reserve Bank of New York reported. All of dollars were sold to buy West German marks, a currency that was under heavy selling pressure during the period. During the three months, the dollar rose about 12% against the mark, returning the dollar to its level of about a year ago. The dollar also rose about 6.5% against the Japanese yen and 9.8% against the British pound, but remained below its year-ago levels against them.