Gold prices up on weak dollar, Iran worries

In the metals markets on Tuesday, gold added 0.6 percent to $640.30 per troy ounce. The precious metal was helped by weakness in the US dollar and heightened tensions after the president of Iran rejected UN sanctions against his nation in response to its continued nuclear program.

Base metals prices, however, were lower on the session. Aluminium dropped 0.6 percent to $2,785.5 per tonne, while tin was 1.2 percent lower to $11,375 per tonne. Copper prices fell 3.3 percent to $6,120 per tonne as London Metal Exchange inventories were up by 7,775 tonnes to 190,575 tonnes, its biggest stockpile since March 2004. In addition, worries about a threatened strike in Chile declined. The drop in the price of copper continued a trend begun in the last quarter of 2006, which saw copper prices decline by over 16 percent.