Gold prices down $16 in two days

June gold was down again on Thursday on the New York Mercantile Exchange, dropping $4.30 to $657.20 per troy ounce and bringing its two-day decline to almost $16. Analysts said that the declines were due to technical issues rather than in reaction to any substantial news.

In other precious metals, July silver was 4.7 cents lower to $12.883 per troy ounce at the close, while July platinum was down $7.90 to $1,317.90 per troy ounce. June palladium was higher, however, adding $2.90 to trade at $360.40 per troy ounce.

In base metals, copper was lower again. It has now dropped 8 percent in four sessions, and analysts are calling the decline a correction rather than simply a sell-off. June copper dropped 11.6 cents on today’s session to end at $3.3065 per pound.