Copper gains on lower LME stockpiles

Copper prices were higher Monday after London Metal Exchange stockpiles declined and as it looked as if the US government would put more money into US banks in an effort to rescue the financial sector, which investors figured could boost the economy and stimulate demand for the metal.

May copper added 2 cents to $1.45 per pound after going higher earlier in New York, while three-month copper was up $85 to $3,235 per tonne, or $1.47 per pound, in London as LME inventories dropped by 950 tonnes to 544,650 tonnes.

Precious metals prices, however, fell as some took profits after last week’s rally as gold fell back below the $1,000 level even as a UBS analyst predicted that it would soon go back above that price.

Recent increases in the price of gold have been fueled by demand for investment purposes as opposed to purchases of the metal for jewelry-making.

April gold was down $7.20 to $995 per troy ounce in New York while March silver fell 4 cents to $14.45 per troy ounce and April platinum dropped $16.20 to $1,083 per troy ounce.