Copper prices mixed in New York, London

Metals prices were mixed Monday.

While December copper added a cent to $1.84 per pound in New York, three-month copper in London was down $9 to $4,090 per tonne on concerns about demand for the metal in China after London Metal Exchange stockpiles grew by 7,275 tonnes on the session after hikes of almost that much each in two sessions late last week.

The worries about demand in China came after a report from the China Federation of Logistics and Purchasing which showed its Purchasing Managers’ Index at 44.6 in October, a decline of 6.6 points from its September reading, indicating that manufacturing activity was down in the Asian nation.

Lead dropped $5 to $1,500 per tonne while aluminium also dropped $5, to $2,050 per tonne, and nickel was $105 lower to $11,995 per tonne.

On the other hand, zinc was up $45 to $1,170 per tonne while tin added $1,100 to $14,500 per tonne.

Among precious metals, gold added $8.80 to $727 per troy ounce in New York, helped by an 18 percent decline in its price last month that is making it more attractive to investors, while December silver added 2 cents to $9.75 per troy ounce.