SHANGHAI, Oct. 18 (SMM) –As LME copper prices overnight fell by more than 1%, SHFE 1112 copper contract prices, the most active one, opened RMB 890/mt lower at RMB 55,250/mt on Tuesday. As Chinese stock markets suffered great resistance during the whole trading day and lost 2,400 points, and since LME copper prices remained weak, SHFE three-month copper contract price trends failed to improve. China’s National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) this morning announced China’s GDP data in the third quarter, which was within market expectations and eased market sentiment. In response, SHFE three-month copper contract prices declined slower. At the tail of trading, Chinese stock markets fell below the 10-day moving average, and LME copper prices lost USD 7,300/mt, dragging down SHFE three-month copper prices to an intraday low of RMB 53,680/mt after falling below the RMB 54,000/mt mark. Finally, SHFE 1112 copper contract prices closed at RMB 54,000/mt, down RMB 2,140/mt or 3.81%. Positions for SHFE 1112 copper contracts were down 26,612 lots, and trading volumes were down 1,194 lots, while positions and trading volumes for SHFE 1201 copper contracts were up 47,086 lots and 157,000 lots respectively, highlighting the shift of the most actively-traded copper contracts. The handover rate remained as high as 215%, and short investors came to dominate the market again, with the 5-day moving average becoming the resistance.