Base, precious metals prices mixed on session

Most base metals prices fell Tuesday on continuing worries that demand will continue to decline and as the US dollar strengthened.

December copper was down 11 cents to $2.01 per pound in New York while three-month copper dropped $220 to $4,500 per tonne even though inventories in London Metal Exchange warehouses dropped 6,500 tonnes on the session.

The push to lower prices spurred miner Freeport McMoRan (NYSE: FCX) to put off planned expansions at its mines.

Among other industrial metals, zinc was down $40 to $1,165 per tonne while lead dropped $50 to $1,370 per tonne and aluminium was $51 lower to $2,080 per tonne as LME stockpiles of the metal added 7,325 tonnes to close to 1.5 million tonnes in storage.

Nickel added about $150 to trade in a range around $10,700/$10,705 per tonne.

Precious metals prices were mixed as well, with December gold down $22 to $768 per troy ounce in New York as January platinum dropped 80 cents to $891.70 per troy ounce, but December silver added 39 cents to $10.08 per troy ounce.