Most metals prices drop this week

In the metals markets, precious metals were lower, with gold dropping 1.1 percent on the week to $621.30 per troy ounce. Silver fell 1.5 percent over the week to $12.79 per troy ounce but consultancy GFMS predicted that a hike to $15 per troy ounce could be coming soon. Platinum was 3.4 percent lower to $1,165 per troy ounce even though demand is predicted to increase, while palladium dropped 4.5 percent to $315 per troy ounce on projections of surplus supply.

Among base metals, copper, lead, and zinc were all down but nickel added 1.1 percent over the week to $29,750 per tonne. Copper dropped 1.4 percent to $6,820 per tonne as London Metal Exchange stockpiles grew by 40 percent from mid-October. Zinc fell 5.6 percent to $4,060 per tonne, while lead was 10.7 percent lower to $1,495 per tonne.