Gold slides on early nudge from dollar

Gold futures dropped Wednesday for the third consecutive trading session, though the dollar index was neutral after early gains. The dollar index, a pro-rated measure of the greenback's value compared with six major currencies, fell 0.07 percent to 82.97 on the International Exchange. Gold for August delivery shed $16.70 or 1.05 percent to $1,572.80 per troy ounce on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange. September silver futures shed 16 cents, or 0.59 percent, to $27.15 an ounce. Early strength in the dollar pressured metals Wednesday, the dollar gaining with expectations of a new round of quantitative easing diminishing after Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke testified in Washington. By close of trading, the euro fell to $1.2278 from $1.2295. Against the yen, the dollar was lower at 78.80 yen compared with Tuesday's 79.07 yen.