Copper, aluminium inventories continue to climb

Base metals prices were mixed Wednesday as copper and aluminium inventories in London Metal Exchange warehouses advanced again.

Three-month copper added $19 to $3,621 per tonne in London after going as low as $3,570, a three-year low, while December copper added less than a cent to $1.66 per pound in New York.

Inventories for the metal used in home construction among other industrial uses added 4,625 tonnes on the session to 270,100 tonnes, bringing gains just since the beginning of November to over 32,200 tonnes.

Meanwhile, aluminium stockpiles in LME warehouses have reached 1.56 million tonnes, 15 days worth of global use, sending three-month contracts $23 lower to $1,925 per tonne.

Nickel was down $225 to $10,500 per tonne while tin fell $450 to $13,700 per tonne but lead was $30 higher to $1,300 per tonne and zinc gained $40 to $1,150 per tonne.

Among precious metals, December gold was down $15.30 to $717.50 per troy ounce in New York while December silver fell 32 cents to $9.49 per troy ounce and January platinum dropped $1.50 to $825.10 per troy ounce.