Gold prices slid sharply on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange Wednesday, losing $50.10, or 3.1 percent, to $1,565.70 per troy ounce. Silver lost $1.58 cents to close at $26.86 per troy ounce. The dollar index rose 1.01 percent to 82.31 on the Intentional Exchange, helping steer foreign investors away from commodities traded in U.S. dollars. The euro fell to $1.2546 from Wednesday\'s $1.2706. Against the yen, the dollar rose to 80.26 yen from Wednesday\'s 79.55 yen.