Precious metals, copper up on weaker dollar

Precious metals prices were higher in New York on Monday as the US dollar declined against the euro after having made gains last week.

December gold was up $4.30 at around 1:30 p.m. to $676.60 per troy ounce, but analysts said that substantial gains are likely not forthcoming until either the dollar weakens more or investors have some reason to find safer places for their money.

September silver was also higher, adding 19 cents to $12.90 per troy ounce, while October platinum gained 10 cents to trade at $1,286.80.

Meanwhile among base metals, September copper added 4 cents to $3.59 per pound in New York, while it added $85 to $7,835 per tonne on the London Metal Exchange.

Besides the decline in the dollar, a decline of 1,000 tonnes in LME warehouse inventories supported the price of copper despite an announcement that production will resume at a mine in Chile that had been shut down due to worker protests.