Foreign Exchange : Dollar Slides Despite Japan Support

The dollar slid on world currency markets Tuesday, hitting four- to seven-year lows against five other major currencies.

The U.S. currency’s decline came despite efforts to support it by the Bank of Japan, dealers said.

Gold prices were higher. Republic National Bank in New York quoted gold at $410.55 an ounce, up $2.05 an ounce from $408.50 on Monday.

Traders said the market defied an intervention by the Federal Reserve Bank, the U.S. central bank, acting on behalf of the Bank of Japan, to support the dollar by purchasing the U.S. currency and selling yen against it.

The Japanese central bank also was reported to have intervened in the Tokyo foreign exchange market earlier Tuesday.

Despite the interventions, the dollar slumped to a seven-year low against the Swiss franc, six-year lows against the West German mark and Dutch guilder, and 12-year lows against the Italian lira and French franc.