Base metals up, precious metals mixed

In the precious metals markets on Monday, gold was driven up and down, then up again in reaction to the drop in the price of oil as well as in response to current conditions in the currency markets. Gold was as high as $684.70 per troy ounce and as low as $670 per troy ounce before settling in at $676.80 per troy ounce. Silver was down 1.4 percent to $13.75 per troy ounce, while platinum added 0.4 percent to $1,183 per troy ounce after going as high as $1,089 earlier in the day.

In base metals, copper dropped 0.2 percent to $7,640 per tonne on an increase of 1,800 tonnes in London Metal Exchange inventories. Supply concerns were also eased by the news that a strike at the Lomas Bayas mine in Chile had been called off. Nickel was slightly lower at $19,450 per tonne and zinc dropped 1.7 percent to $3,390 per tonne. Both copper and zinc had hit new record highs on Friday.