Metals prices up

Prices on base and precious metals were up on Tuesday after Monday’s falling prices. Three-month copper, for example, was up 3 percent on the day, by $167 to $4,807 per tonne in late afternoon trade on the London Metal Exchange after a 4 percent drop on Monday. Three-month aluminium was up $50 to $2,410 per tonne and recovered around two-thirds of its Monday decline. Zinc, meanwhile, was up over 5 percent to $2,359 per tonne, only $60 dollars below its record high that was reached four weeks ago.

Gold prices rose by $6 to $560.30/$561.20 per troy ounce. The gain was after commodities consultant CPM group said that investment demand as well as fabrication demand for gold will probably decline in 2006, but that prices would average $502.34 this year, above the 2005 average of $446.42, and that gold mine output would go up 6.1 percent to 66.8 million troy ounces.