Gold prices down; base metals mixed

Gold prices dropped on Wednesday as trade from Asian nations was slow due to holidays in that part of the world. The precious metal dropped 0.6 percent to $672.70 per troy ounce.

Base metals were mixed in the face of a strike in Peru even though talks have begun, support for the strike appears to be unenthusiastic, and most of the large mines are continuing to operate on a normal schedule despite the strike.

Copper was as high as $8,010 per tonne after London Metal Exchange inventories dropped by 2,325 tonnes, but the price dropped later in the session to a loss of 0.5 percent as the metal traded at $7,950.

Lead, meanwhile, added 2 percent to trade at $2,050 per tonne on supply worries concerning the McArthur River mine in Australia. It appears likely that the government there will allow Xstrata (LSE: XTA) to turn the mine into an open-pit operation.