Precious metals gain; most base metals up as well

Metals prices were mostly higher on Monday. In midday trade in New York June gold gained $2.10 to $673.30 per troy ounce on the New York Mercantile Exchange. August gold in New York was up $2.40 to $679.30 per troy ounce. Also in New York, July silver was 8 cents higher to $13.820 per troy ounce, while July platinum gained $7.40 to trade at $1,303 per troy ounce and September palladium added 55 cents to $378 per troy ounce.

Base metals were mixed, with most prices higher as well. The main exception was lead, which dropped 0.5 percent to close at $2,360 per tonne in London. Aluminium added 1.3 percent to $2,825.5 per tonne. Zinc was 1.6 percent higher to $3,820 per tonne as LME inventories dropped by 500 tonnes on the session to 75,000 tonnes. That was the lowest level of available zinc stockpiles in LME warehouses in 16 years. Copper, meanwhile, added 2.1 percent to $7,610 per tonne, also on a substantial decline in LME inventories. While one strike was averted in Chile, another threatened strike in Mexico could interrupt supplies.