Gold lower in New York; palladium climbs

Most precious metals prices declined Tuesday as crude oil prices continued to climb.

December gold dropped 20 cents to $762 per troy ounce in New York after climbing as high as $772 per troy ounce earlier in the day, the highest for a most-active contract since the beginning of 1980.

Silver for December delivery also dropped 20 cents to $13.66 per troy ounce on the likelihood that demand for the metal, which has more industrial applications than gold, will decline as the US economy slows.

January platinum was $5.80 lower to $1,422.40 per troy ounce after a South African wage dispute involving Lonmin (LSE: LMI) and the National Union of Mineworkers was resolved.

Palladium, however, added 30 cents to $375.30 per troy ounce.

Meanwhile, among base metals, copper dropped 5 cents to $3.64 per pound in New York and fell $115 to $8,035 per tonne on the London Metal Exchange on bad news from the US housing sector, where a significant amount of the metal is used in housing construction.

In addition, workers at a mine in Chile agreed to a new contract, to run for 39 months.