Dollar Off Sharply; Gold Is Steady

The dollar dropped sharply against most key currencies on world markets Tuesday. The price of gold was little changed. At Republic National Bank of New York, gold bullion was $341.75 an ounce, up 25 cents from Monday’s bid.

Dealers sold dollars to collect profits made during the dollar’s advance over the past few weeks, said Ronald Holzer, chief dealer for Harris Trust & Savings Bank in Chicago. Jean-Marie Eveillard, president of Sogen International Fund, an affiliate of Societe Generale, the large French banking concern, offered a similar assessment: “The dollar had gone up for two weeks and now it’s going down again. The move is mostly technical.”