SHANGHAI, Sept. 5 (SMM) -- European and US financial markets plunged last Friday, which largely affected SHFE metal prices today. In addition, the Shanghai Composite Index opened significantly lower today, which further depressed SHFE metal market sentiment.

US Labor Department announced on September 2nd that non-farm payrolls in August were unchanged from a month earlier, the weakest since September 2010, and the unemployment rate also remained at July level, and US enterprises became less confident in the economic recovery. US July non-farm employment was revised down to a rise of 85,000 from an increase of 117,000. US non-farm employment data exerted negative impact on markets, and when the economic outlook is uncertain, the firm will not increase the employees, and the US economy has already been the edge of recession. On September 5th, commercial banks began to put margin deposits into reserve requirements in batches as China’s central bank previously ordered, adding to pressure on the banking system and intensifying tight capital pressures in financial markets.  

Investors are still concerned about the major changes in international and domestic macro policies, as well as in technical indicators. As long as no significant changes are seen in macro policies, metal prices will continue to fluctuate weakly in the short term amid current international and domestic macro economic conditions.