Copper prices gain $45 on Chile strike

Gold was slightly lower in late afternoon trade on Monday, with the precious metal trading at $612.90/$613.40 per troy ounce. At the close on Friday, gold was trading in the range of $615.00/$616.50 per troy ounce. Silver, meanwhile, dropped 45 cents in late afternoon trading in London to trade at $12.36 per troy ounce.

In base metals, three-month copper was up $45 to $6,680 per tonne on the London Metal Exchange after workers at Xstrata’s Altonorte copper smelter in Chile went on strike Monday after rejecting a final contract offer. Zinc prices were also higher, gaining $30 to $4,345 per tonne. Aluminium prices were lower, however, falling $26 to $2,777 per tonne. In addition, nickel declined by $350 to $34,000 per tonne.