Gold in another record above $1,069 per ounce

The price of gold reached another new record in New York trade on Tuesday, rising to $1,069.70 per troy ounce before ending the floor trade session $7.10 higher at $1,064.60 per troy ounce.

Gains for gold came on continuing weakness for the US dollar as well as on concerns that inflation could grow, despite expectations that a new report due Thursday will say that US inflation grew more slowly in September than it did in August.

Other precious metals saw prices rise as December silver added 2 cents to $17.84 per troy ounce and January platinum gained $13.40 to $1,360.70 per troy ounce while in earlier, mid-morning, trade December palladium was up $2.25 to $332.05 per troy ounce.

Base metals prices, however, declined during the session.

December copper fell 6 cents to $2.79 per pound in New York trade while three-month copper dropped $135 to $6,140 per tonne after going as low as $6,055.25 per tonne earlier in London.

The declines came ahead of September data on imports into China, which are expected to be lower than August’s levels, and after a strike began at a small mine in Chile although a strike at another copper mine in the South American country was averted when workers accepted an offer.

Prices were also pushed lower when London Metal Exchange copper stockpiles added another 575 tonnes to 347,950 tonnes during the session and by a statement from the CEO of miner Rio Tinto’s copper operations, who said that demand has not yet begun to recover yet in the US and Europe and probably will not do so until later in the year.

Aluminium prices were $40 lower to $1,907 per tonne despite a decline of 2,425 tonnes in LME inventories, which nonetheless remained near record highs, while zinc was down $69 to $2,025 per tonne, tin fell $275 to $14,400 per tonne, nickel dropped $665 to $18,155 per tonne, and lead ended the session lower at $2,170 per tonne.