61.   Cover-buying buoyed the dollar early in the day.

62.   Early in the day the dollar was buoyed by a weak German mark that was dragged down by worse-than-expected job figures in Germany for December.

63.   Trader David Wilson with Paribas bank said the dollar was buoyed by Japanese insurance companies and by US investment funds who had given buying orders.

64.   Over the past week, the dollar was buoyed by encouraging statistics on inflation in the United States and satisfactory quarterly sales of Treasury bills.

65.   Statements by Treasury Secretary Robert Rubin, according to whom a strong dollar was in the US best interest, buoyed the dollar in late trading.

66.   The dollar was buoyed by short covering ahead of the weekend, dealers said.

67.   The dollar was buoyed Thursday against the other major currencies except the yen on mostly technical factors ahead of key US unemployment data due Friday.