Copper prices gain on falling stockpiles

Copper prices fell Monday after inventories in warehouses monitored by the London Metal Exchange fell to 267,300 tonnes during the day, the thirty-seventh session in a row that stockpiles of the metal used in construction and manufacturing have declined.

In addition, copper in warehouses monitored in Shanghai were down 18 percent last week.

September copper added 2 cents to $2.33 per pound in New York trade while three-month copper added $64 to $5,099 per tonne, or $2.31 per pound, on the LME.

Meanwhile, prices for aluminium, lead, zinc and tin all declined and nickel held steady.

Precious metals prices, however, were lower after gold declined after the dollar lost ground during the day.

The decline in the dollar made gold look like a more secure investment.

August gold closed down 30 cents to $940.70 per troy ounce after going as low as $933.60 earlier in the session, while September silver fell 18 cents to $13.98 per troy ounce and October platinum dropped $17.50 to $1,193.20 per troy ounce.