Dollar Declines in Active U.S. Trading

The dollar declined in moderately active trading in the United States on Tuesday after rising in Europe.

Gold prices followed the same pattern. Bullion was quoted at $341.25 an ounce at 4 p.m. EDT at Republic Nationl Bank, down 75 cents from Friday’s bid.

Currency dealers said the American currency’s early gains were later offset. Some traders in Frankfurt, West Germany, said it appeared that the markets had tired of trying to push the dollar higher. The dollar gained sharply last week after declining for weeks.

“The dollar opened up on a higher note,” said William Orsini, a senior commercial trader at the Bank of Montreal here. Then, “the dollar came off. Probably the biggest reason it came off was that we were unable to break through a very important technical resistance level.”

Dealers also cited some profit-taking.

In London, the British pound edged up to $1.4965 from $1.4950 late Monday in Europe. Sterling fetched $1.5025 in New York, compared to $1.4912 on Friday.