Gold slides under $1600

Gold prices dropped again Wednesday, sliding below $1,600 and hitting their lowest point of the year on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange. As the dollar index rose and equities headed south, gold shed $10.30 to $1,594.20 per troy ounce. That\'s the lowest since Dec. 30 when it was at $1,565.30. Silver shed 21 cents to $29.24 per ounce. The dollar index rose 0.36 percent to 80.15 on the International Exchange, although the greenback was mixed in Asia and Europe. The euro fell to $1.2934 from Tuesday\'s $1.3007. Against the yen, the dollar fell to 79.64 yen from 79.87 yen. The British pound rose to $1.6131 from $1.6128. The dollar fell to 1.0023 Canadian dollars from 1.0024 Canadian. The dollar dropped against the Hong Kong dollar, trading at 7.7633 from 7.7637. The Australian dollar fell to $1.0042 from $1.0051.