Gold, copper, other metals price fall

Metals prices were lower Monday as gold dropped on a stronger US dollar and copper declined on concerns about demand from China.

August gold fell $11.10 to $1,198.70 per troy ounce in New York trade and went as low as $1.196.10 per troy ounce earlier in the session as investors waited for the first earnings report from last quarter, due to begin coming in later today, as analysts predicted that if the first reports disappoint gold could go higher as investors begin to look for safe places to put their cash.

September silver fell 16 cents to $17.92 per troy ounce, while October platinum was down $17.90 to $1,515.30 per troy ounce and September palladium dropped $2.80 to $454.15 per troy ounce.

Meanwhile, September copper was 4 cents lower to $3 per pound in New York and three-month contracts fell 1.7 percent to $6,646 per tonne on the London Metal Exchange, the first declines in copper prices in over a week, on new data which showed that China imported 1.7 percent less copper in June than it did in May, the third consecutive month of lower imports into the Asian nation.

Aluminium, lead, nickel, zinc and tin also saw prices decline on the session.