Copper rises as precious metals decline

The price of gold was lower Thursday on slower demand while silver and platinum prices also fell but copper saw gains after the dollar weakened during the session.

May contracts for copper added 3 cents to $1.49 per pound in New York and three-month copper was up $107 to $3,342 per tonne, or $1.42 per pound, on the London Metal Exchange.

The gains came even though LME inventories added 2,950 tonnes to 528,250 tonnes during the day although demand was up due the decline in the value of the US dollar.

April gold was $1.70 lower to $976.50 per troy ounce in New York as a new report said that demand for gold as an investment has overtaken demand for the precious metal for jewelry, which is down 11 percent this year.

March silver was up 36 cents to $13.94 per troy ounce, while April platinum dropped $22.40 but remained above the $1,000 level at $1,072 per troy ounce.