LONDON (SHARECAST) - Base metals were in demand Tuesday but the price of gold headed south as confidence returned to the stock market.
Gold for August delivery fell $12.60 to $1,195.10 an ounce, the lowest price for the most actively traded contract since May 21.
Traders said that the strength of the euro counted against the appeal of the yellow stuff, as the prices of the two have tended to move in opposite directions in recent sessions, but the precious metal’s price did receive some support from jewellery buyers in India who have been holding back from buying of late due to high prices.
Silver endured a day of choppy trading before finishing 14 cents higher at $17.86 an ounce, while palladium bounced $13.50 higher to $440.40 an ounce.
Copper rose for the third day in succession, advancing 5 cents to $2.97 a pound as New YorkStockpiles of copper tracked by the London Metal Exchange dropped to a seven-month low Tuesday.
The price of oil fell modestly in New York trading, turning lower after a buoyant morning session to close at its lowest price in a month.
Crude oil for August delivery fell 16 cents to $71.98 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange, the sixth day in a row it has lost ground.
Initially traders appeared unfazed by a disappointing June reading of the Institute for Supply Management’s US non-manufacturing index, which fell to 53.8% from 55.4% in May, but subsequently decided to limit their exposure ahead of Wednesday’s release of the Department of Energy’s short term energy outlook.
