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Mark crosses steady in London

LONDON: The mark crosses were steady in afternoon trading as volumes slowed and eyes were glued to dollar movements amid caution that central banks may intervene again, dealers said.

The lira was still sitting above the key 1100 per mark level but some dealers said Italian politics could return to haunt the lira as the traditionally quiet summer period draws to a close.

"The reason why some high-yielders like the lira and peseta were gaining is because politics was on holiday. If things start to look uncertain again on the political front, there will be a lot of positions to unwind," said a Dutch bank dealer in London.

Italy's cabinet is due to meet next Monday and resume full government activity after a 10-day summer break.

The mark was quoted at 1097.50/8.00 to the mark at 1330 GMT compared with 1098.30/80 in late European dealings on Wednesday.

The mark was also little changed at 3.4233/38 French francs. Earlier, the Bank of France left the intervention rate unchanged at 5.0 percent. Dealers said they expected no change in policy while the central bank was in recess this month, though they added that call money market rates were expected to keep edging lower.-Reuter