Precious metals see declnes

Precious metals prices were lower in early afternoon trade in New York on Monday.

August gold dropped $1 to trade at $666.30 per troy ounce, while September silver was 5 cents lower to $13.07 per troy ounce.

October platinum was down 40 cents to $1,327.10 per troy ounce, but some analysts expect that it will go higher following an announcement by platinum miner Lonmin (LSE: LMI) that a problem at a South African facility will mean postponement of the delivery of up to 90,000 ounces of the metal until after September.

September palladium, meanwhile, dropped 95 cents to $370.50 per troy ounce.