Copper, lead prices see gains

Base metals were mixed on Thursday, with the price for most down.

December copper, however, added 2 cents to $3.59 per pound in New York, while three-month copper on the London Metal Exchange gained $30 to $7,915 per tonne and copper for immediate delivery was trading $48 above the three-month price.

Lead was also higher, adding $13 to $3,248 per tonne in London.

Three-month aluminium was $34 lower in late afternoon trade in London to $2,450 per tonne and was as low as $2,440 per tonne earlier in the day on a report from the International Aluminium Association that aluminium production was 14 percent higher this August, at 3.23 million tonnes, than it was in the same period last year.

Zinc to be delivered in three months dropped $85 to $2,899 per tonne, a decline of 30 percent so far this year, while tin was down $100 to $15,250 per tonne and three-month nickel fell $1,200 to $32,600 per tonne on the LME.