Tin prices up 0.4 percent on Indonesian smelter crackdown

Gold was lower in metals markets on Monday, trading at $645.70 per troy ounce ahead of a new decision on interest rates from the US Federal Reserve, due Wednesday.

Base metals prices were mostly lower. The major exception was tin, which added 0.4 percent to $12,250 per tonne on a drop of 375 tonnes on stockpiles and worries over a crackdown on independent smelters in Indonesia.

Nickel dropped 1.8 percent to $37,400 per tonne even though London Metal Exchange stockpiles were 600 tonnes lower to only 2,700 tonnes. Aluminium fell 3 percent to $2,710 per tonne as a strike in Guinea ended.

Copper and zinc were each down 3.8 percent, to $5,590 per tonne and $3,500 per tonne respectively. Copper inventories were up by 5,975 tonnes in LME warehouses as consumption has declined, likely as a consequence of the housing slowdown in the United States.