SHANGHAI, Jul. 1 (SMM) – LME zinc prices opened at USD 2,017.5/mt Tuesday, then plunged to a one-year low of USD 1,964.5/mt, and closed at USD 1,999/mt, down USD 23/mt or 1.14%. Trading volumes increased 8,001 to 17,423 lots, and total positions fell 593 to 294,468. LME zinc inventories fell 525 to 464,400 mt.
SHFE 1509 zinc contract prices opened at RMB 15,235/mt, then dropped to a new low of RMB 15,125/mt, and closed at RMB 15,210/mt, down RMB 135/mt or 0.88%. Trading volumes increased 30,418 to 70,814 lots, and total positions declined 886 to 135,720.
Greece failed to repay the EUR 1.55 billion to IMF. Greece prime minister applied for a two-year extension for bailout to European Stability Mechanism to meet its financial demand. Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras announced a referendum as to the new austerity measures was due July 5, and this will decide whether Greece will remain in the eurozone. Besides, eurozone inflation rate in June weakened further, pushing down the EUR:USD down 0.81%.
Chicago PMI rose in June rose 3.2 to 49.4. New orders index increased 8.8 in June. Standard & Poor's/Case-Shiller 20-city home price index shows US home prices rose 1.1% in April, with prices in all the 20 cities tracked up.
China has taken measures after the slump in domestic stocks markets. The NDRC also accelerated infrastructure construction to stimulate market confidence.
Crude oil prices surged 1.95%, and London gold plummeted 0.64%. US stocks closed with gains whilst European stocks dropped. LME base metals prices were mixed. LME nickel prices stopped falling.
China’s official PMI and ADP employment data for the US will be announced today. LME zinc prices should move between USD 1,985-2,015/mt today, and SHFE 1509 zinc contract prices will fluctuate between RMB 15,150-15,280/mt, with spot premiums of RMB 0-30/mt.
