Dollar Turns Mixed; Gold Climbs $4

The dollar turned mixed Tuesday in nervous trading. Undermining the U.S. currency were signs that U.S. economic growth is slowing; supporting it was speculation of further interest-rate cuts overseas.

Gold prices rose strongly. Bullion was quoted at $342.60 an ounce at 4 p.m. EST at Republic National Bank, up $4.10 from Monday’s late bid.

The dollar slumped when the U.S. government announced that the U.S. index of leading indicators for January fell 0.6% instead of rising 0.3% as expected. But the dollar rebounded on a revision of the December index to a rise of 1.5%, higher than the preliminary 0.9% rise, dealers said.

In addition, William Orsini, senior commercial trader at the Bank of Montreal in New York, said: “The dollar here is a bit higher on speculation of further interest-rate falls overseas.”

Orsini characterized trading as jittery and said the dollar traded in a narrow range.