Stronger dollar sends gold lower

In the metals markets on Monday, gold prices were lower as the US dollar strengthened. At late afternoon in London, gold had lost over $8 to trade at $570.20/$570.90 per troy ounce. Silver was also down, by 20 cents to $9.88/$8.98 per troy ounce.

Three-month copper on the London Metal Exchange dropped $245 to $6,735 per tonne after China’s central bank said it would tighten credit. The price of copper fell even though LME copper inventories are down to their lowest level since February due to supply disruptions in Chile, Indonesia, and Mexico.

The price of zinc and nickel also dropped despite scant inventories. Zinc lost $90 to $2,985 per tonne, while nickel dropped $440 to $18,750 per tonne. Aluminium was also down on the day, by $85 to $2,480 per tonne.