Dollar Off Sharply; Gold Is Steady

NEW YORK — 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.”