Gold prices fall in New York

The price of gold was lower in afternoon trade in New York on Thursday as investors looked for a little more risk on the possibility that an aid package to Greece could be more than had been initially expected and after the US Labor Department reported that new jobless claims were down last week in the United States.

The Labor Department said that 11,000 fewer first-time jobless claims were filed last week than the week before, to 448,000, but there were still slightly more filings during the week than had been anticipated.

May gold was down $2.90 to $1,168.40 per troy ounce during the afternoon session, while May silver added 44 cents to $18.55 per troy ounce, May platinum was up $22.30 to $1,733.70 per troy ounce and June palladium gained $6 to $548 per troy ounce.

Base metals prices were mixed, with copper down 2 cents to $3.36 per pound by afternoon in New York but, in afternoon trade in London, three-month contracts for the metal used in manufacturing and construction had added 0.1 percent to $7,410 per tonne.

Analysts and investors are still concerned that Europe’s debt crisis could hurt oveall demand, although growth in China is expected to help demand there.

Among other base metals trading in London, aluminium, lead and tin joined copper in advancing, while nickel and zinc prices fell during the session.