Gold down slightly in New York

Silver and gold dropped slightly in New York Wednesday, where the price has held steady since the new year, despite a spike in gold prices in Japan. The yen has weakened sharply since the new year, as Prime Minister Shinzo Abe is pushing for further quantitative easing measures to give Japan's export oriented economy a boost. The price of gold in Japan has jumped 4.2 percent since Jan. 1, The Wall Street Journal reported. In London, the price has dropped 0.1 percent in the past two weeks. On the New York Mercantile Exchange, gold started the new year at $1,674.40 per troy ounce. On Wednesday, NYMEX gold dropped 0.28 percent or $4.70 to reach $1,679.20, a marginal gain on the year. Silver lost 5 cents Wednesday to close at $31.48 per ounce. The dollar dropped against the yen Wednesday, hitting 88.44 yen from Tuesday's 88.78 yen. The euro fell to $1.3288 from $1.3305. The British pound fell to $1.5999 from $1.6064. The dollar rose to 0.9862 Canadian dollars from 0.9842 Canadian. The dollar also rose against Hong Kong's dollar, climbing from 7.7519 HKD to 7.7522 HKD.