Copper gains in New York on weaker dollar, manufacturing data

Copper was mixed in floor trade Tuesday it added 1 cent to $3 per pound in New York but three-month contracts on the London Metal Exchange fell $60 to $6,600 per tonne by the end of the trading day.

Later, however, the metal used in construction and manufacturing managed to come back to trade at $6,690 in after-hours electronic trade as the US dollar weakened,, spurring more demand, and new data from the New York Federal Reserve showed that manufacturing activity in the New York region is up this month for the eleventh month in a row.

Aluminium added $18 to $2,012 per tonne in London, although some analysts are predicting that prices could drop this fall, while zinc and lead each added $44 during the London session, to $1,840 per tonne and $1,759 per tonne respectively, and tin was up $550 to $17,500 per tonne.

Nickel prices, on the other hand, fell $25 in London trade to $20,225 per tonne.

Precious metals prices were higher as the euro gained 1 percent on the US dollar and some investors still worried enough about economic issues to look to gold as a safe place to put their cash.

August gold added $9.90 to $1,234.40 per troy ounce in New York trade, while July silver was up 17 cents to $18.57 per troy ounce and September palladium gained $12.95 to $475.55 per troy ounce.