Some precious metals prices up on day; base metals decline on week

Precious metals prices were mixed on Friday. June gold added $3.80 to $681.80 per troy ounce by early afternoon in New York, while July silver gained 12 cents to $13.58 per troy ounce. Platinum, however, was down by $10.60 to $1,293 per troy ounce. The threat of a strike next week in Peru, a major source of gold and silver, posed a possible threat to supplies.

The possibility of a strike could not hold copper above the $8,000 level, however, even though Peru is a major producer of the base metal as well. Copper dropped 2.6 percent during the week to trade at $7,745 per tonne. Elsewhere, the price of tin dropped by 3.1 percent over the week to $13,250 per tonne as supply worries receded in Indonesia.

Crude oil prices rose during the day after security forces in Saudi Arabia arrested nearly 200 militants the government claimed were planning to attack oil facilities there. Also sending prices higher was a new US intelligence estimate that says Iran will have bomb-grade nuclear material sooner than previously forecast. In addition, gasoline demand in the United States raised fears that supplies will be short once the summer driving season gets underway.

June contracts for Brent crude on the Intercontinental Exchange in London were 58 cents higher to $68.23 per barrel, a gain of 2.6 percent during the week. West Texas Intermediate crude for June delivery added 4 percent on the week, gaining 90 cents to $65.96 on the New York Mercantile Exchange on Friday. Meanwhile, Nymex May RBOB gasoline added 8 percent on the week to trade at $2.3070 per gallon.

Story link: Some precious metals prices up on day; base metals decline on week