H.K. DEALERS SAY NAKASONE G-6 COMMENT TOO LATE
Remarks by Japan's Prime Minister
Yasuhiro Nakasone that last month's G-6 meeting agreed to
stabilize the dollar above 150 yen have come too late to
influence currency trading, dealers said.
    After Nakasone's statement the dollar rose to 146.40/50 yen
from an initial low of 144.20/40 and New York's Friday finish
of 147.15/25. But the rebound was largely on short-covering,
they said.
    "I think (Nakasone's) desperate," said a U.S. Bank foreign
exchange manager.
    Nakasone told a Lower House Budget Committee in Parliament
that Japan and other industrialized nations committed
themselves in Paris last month to stabilize the dollar above
150 yen.
    Finance Minister Kiichi Miyazawa told the same committee
that the six - Britain, Canada, France, Japan, the U.S. And
West Germany - had intervened aggressively since the dollar
fell below 150 yen.
    "His (Nakasone) remarks should have been made and should
have had a bigger influence when the dollar was still above 150
yen," said P.S. Tam of Morgan Guaranty Trust.
    Tam said the dollar has hit short-term chart targets  and
is likely to rebound. But he warned of another dip to below 145
yen.
    Dealers said the worsening trade relations between the U.S.
And Japan will continue to depress the dollar.
    The trade issue has now become a political issue since the
Reagan Administration is facing uproar in Congress over
th3pYgks in cutting the country's 169.8 billion dlr trade
deficit, they said.
 REUTER
