Foreign Exchange for Thursday, Aug. 21, 1986 : Dollar Falls Against Most Currencies

NEW YORK —  The dollar fell against major foreign currencies except the Japanese yen and British pound in thin trading Thursday, as traders awaited further interest rate reductions in the wake of the Federal Reserve Board’s discount rate cut on Wednesday.

Gold prices gained, led by a surge in platinum prices. Republic National Bank in New York at 4 p.m. EDT quoted gold bullion at $384.25, up $5.50 from late Wednesday.

Dealers said currency markets have been wary of the direction the dollar would take after the Fed reduced the discount rate to 5.5% from 6%.

The Fed and the White House have been pressuring Japan and West Germany to match the rate cut in order to prevent the dollar from going into a tailspin against the yen and the mark.

The Bundesbank, the West German central bank, on Thursday made no changes in its base lending rate during its weekly meeting, prompting traders to sell the dollar in favor of the mark.