Gold closes above $1,700 - UPI.com NEW YORK, March 9 (UPI) -- Gold prices rose Friday as Greek officials said they had secured debt-swap commitments from more than 80 percent of its private bondholders. The swaps will lower Greece's immediate debt obligations and allow the country to qualify for $170 billion in international aid. On the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange, gold prices added $15.30 to reach $1,714 per troy ounce. Silver added 44 cents to $34.28. The euro fell to $1.3167 from Thursday's $1.3275. Against the yen, the dollar rose to 82.46 yen from 81.55 yen. The British pound fell to $1.5669 from Thursday's $1.5831. The U.S. dollar rose to 7.7581 Hong Kong dollars from 7.7559 HKD. The U.S. greenback rose to 0.9905 Canadian dollars from 0.9903 Canadian.