Foreign Exchange for Tuesday, Nov. 19, 1985 : Dollar Is Stable; Gold Prices Mixed

NEW YORK — The dollar came out about even against most foreign currencies Tuesday after early dollar-selling was cut short by an unexpected surge of dollar purchases.

Gold prices were mixed. Republic National Bank of New York quoted a gold bid of $323.75 an ounce at 4 p.m. EST, off a nickel from late Monday.

The dollar fell early in the day in New York on expectations that climbing bond prices and the resulting lower interest rates would make dollar-denominated investments less attractive.

However, bond prices lost some ground later, even though they finished the day ahead. Dollar-sellers ran into some resistance and the big traders were forced to re-enter the market and buy dollars back, according to Howard Kurz, chief trader for Bank of America in New York.

Jim Bovery, a trader for Irving Trust Co., said a rush of buy orders came in when the dollar sank to 259.5 West German marks. The dollar endedat 2.61025 marks, up from 2.60975 late Monday.