Gold prices ease, copper flat

LONDON: Gold prices eased on Thursday as the dollar clawed back lost ground against the euro, denting interest in the metal as an alternative to the US currency. Spot gold was bid at $1,051.60 an ounce at 1402 GMT, against $1,058.35 late in New York on Wednesday. US gold futures for December delivery on the COMEX division of the New York Mercantile Exchange fell $12.20 to $1,052.30. The world’s largest gold exchange-traded fund, the SPDR Gold Trust, also reported an outflow on Wednesday. Its holdings fell nearly 40,000 ounces or 0.1 percent. Among other precious metals, silver was bid at $17.34 an ounce against $17.66 late on Wednesday, tracking losses in gold. Platinum was at $1,353 an ounce against $1,359. Palladium was flat at $332.50, supported by fears over the outlook for Russian and South African supply and hopes for a recovery in automotive demand. Copper flat: Copper struggled for direction on Thursday as upbeat Chinese economic data offset a rebound in the dollar and worries that prices had run ahead of fundamentals. At 1416 GMT, copper for three-months delivery on the London Metal Exchange traded at $6,581 a tonne from a close of $6,590 on Wednesday, when the metal used in power and construction hit $6,665, its highest since September last year. Latest LME data showed copper stocks rose 1,525 tonnes to total 364,075 tonnes, the highest since mid-May and up more than 50 percent since the middle of July. In other metals, zinc, used to galvanize steel, was boosted by prospects for increased demand in China. Three-month LME zinc rose to $2,265 a tonne, the highest since May 2008 but then traded at $2,235.25 versus $2,235 on Wednesday. Among other industrial metals, aluminium traded at $1,969.25 from $1,966, having earlier hit a 2-month high of $1,999.75 while battery material lead traded at $2,405.25 from $2,445. Tin traded $14,500 from $14,450, and steel-making ingredient nickel was at $19,440 from $19,735. reuters