"The new bullishness for the U.S. dollar that began to jell late last week firmed yesterday as the dollar gained against most other major currencies.</br></br>Traders attributed the increased purchases of dollars to higher U.S. interest rates -- the result of a bond market slump -- and raised expectations for economic growth in the U.S.</br></br>However, traders called the dollar's rise a temporary move in a prolonged decline. ""I hesitate to say that we're seeing a turnaround,"" said Leslie A. Puth, a trader at Credit Suisse, New York. ""But it is the first time in a couple of months that we've seen any sustained buying of dollars; that is, over two days,"" she said.</br></br>By late New York trading, the dollar had risen 1.2% against the West German mark, the bellwether European unit, to 2.0745 marks from 2.0508 Friday. The dollar also rose to 155.96 Japanese yen from 155.70.</br></br>In early trading in Tokyo Tuesday the dollar rose against the Japanese currency to 156.35 yen from 155.96 in New York yesterday afternoon."