Metals prices decline on profit-taking, data

Gold prices were lower in New York on Friday as investors took profits after the recent rally, as well as on worries created by new employment data and new declines in the US dollar.

February contracts for gold on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange dropped $3.40 to $865.70 per troy ounce, while March silver fell 4 cents to $15.46 per troy ounce.

April platinum was down $4.70 to $1,547.10 per troy ounce as investors worried about industrial demand in a slowing US economy.

March palladium, which like platinum is used in the manufacture of emissions-control devices for motor vehicles, dropped $1.90 to $377.75 per troy ounce.

Among base metals, copper was 3 cents lower to $3.16 per pound in New York, while three-month copper on the London Metal Exchange was down $60 to $6,910 per tonne, or $3.13 per pound.