11.   But it later recovered as investors covered short, or oversold, dollar positions, traders said.

12.   But the currency recovered some of its early losses after remarks by a Japanese Finance Ministry official prompted some traders to cover their short, or oversold dollar positions.

13.   But the dollar climbed later as commercial banks covered their short, or oversold, dollar positions, traders said.

14.   But the dollar made some headway by midday as commercial banks covered their short, or oversold, dollar positions, traders said.

15.   But the trend reversed after the noon break, with some banks starting to sell dollars, probably because they had exceeded the permissible level for overbought dollar positions.

16.   But the weakness in U.S. stocks and lingering concerns over financial problems in Latin America are discouraging investors from aggressively building up dollar positions, they said.

17.   Buying by Japanese institutional investors who are trying to cover their short, or oversold, dollar positions, lifted the U.S. currency against the yen, traders said.

18.   Covering of oversold dollar positions nudged the dollar higher than its overnight New York level, traders said.

19.   Dealers said the peso was also underpinned by robust dollar inflows and the unwinding of long dollar positions by banks.

20.   Dealers said players were squaring off long dollar positions before the weekend as they were uncertain of the direction of the rupiah next week.