Gold slips, but the dollar firms up in marketplace

Gold dropped again in price Tuesday, trading at only a few dollars an ounce above the level at which it opened the new year. But it is steady fall in recent days was broken overnight when gold rallied on the Hong Kong market, and dealers in Europe reported that it continued to attract buyers when their markets opened later.

The dollar was strong on foreign exchange markets but profit-taking by speculators appeared to have trimmed its recent surge in value.

The fall in gold and the strength of the dollar stem mainly from current record high interest rates in the United States.

Gold traded on the London bullion market Tuesday at around $562.50 an ounce.