Precious metals prices decline

Prices for base metals were mixed on Wednesday, with aluminium and copper prices dropping, but the price of nickel advancing. Prices for precious metals were down.

Gold lost 1.9 percent to $639.70 per troy ounce as tensions over the Iran situation subsided somewhat and as investors waited for release of the minutes of the most recent meeting of the US Federal Reserve, scheduled for later in the day. Meanwhile, silver was down 3.9 percent to $12.48 per troy ounce, while platinum declined by 2.9 percent to $1,246 per troy ounce and palladium dropped 2 percent to $348 per troy ounce.

Copper was down 1.1 percent to $7,860 per tonne as London Metal Exchange inventories grew by 6,150 tonnes and China got ready for an auction of copper next week. Aluminum was down 1.7 percent to $2,650 per tonne as investors waited to hear whether a possible strike against Alcoa would materialize when a labour contract expires at midnight. Most analysts, however, believed that the chances of a strike are slim. Nickel was up 1.4 percent after a significant loss on Tuesday.