Precious, base metals prices down in London

With floor trade in New York closed due to observance of the Martin Luther King Day holiday in the United States, precious metals were lower in London on Monday as the US dollar strengthened.

At 5 p.m. in London, gold was $19.93 lower to $863.24 per troy ounce, while silver for immediate delivery was 58 cents lower to $15.59 per troy ounce.

Platinum and palladium for immediate delivery were also lower, falling $19.25 to $1,539.75 per troy ounce and $6.50 to $363 per troy ounce respectively.

In electronic trade, New York February contracts for gold were $18.70 lower to $863 per troy ounce.

Among base metals, three-month copper dropped $266 to $5,875 per tonne by 5 p.m in London on continuing worries that demand will decline and estimates that copper prices will average 7 percent lower this year than they averaged in 2007.

Aluminium was down $38 to $2,412 per tonne while zinc was $120 lower to $2,235 per tonne and tin dropped $380 to $16,070 as inventories for all three metals grew in London Metal Exchange warehouses.