SHANGHAI, Feb. 22 (SMM) –The US and European markets Tuesday continued to absorb the positive news euro zone finance ministers had approved the second bailout for Greece, boosting the euro but weighing on the US dollar which closed with losses. Consequently, commodity markets closed with gains, including energy markets, precious metal markets along with improved market sentiment. US equities exhibited strong performance during the first trading day following a public holiday, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average crossing the 13,000 level for the first time since May 2008. As a result, LME copper prices surged all the way and touched an intraday high of USD 8,470/mt before finally ending at USD 8,451/mt, up significantly by 2.33%, and registering the biggest one-day gain since November 2011.

LME copper prices will extend the previous day's gains Wednesday, and the opening price will likely rise. However, possible profit-taking and corrections in the US dollar following declines will keep LME copper's upward room in check. As such, SMM expects LME copper prices will fluctuate between USD 8,360-8,500/mt during Wednesday's Asian trading session. Chinese stock market will also open higher. SHFE copper prices will keep fluctuating following a high open, and SHFE 1205 copper contract prices will move in the RMB 60,000-60,800/mt band. Spot copper discounts are likely to expand slightly to between negative RMB 450-350/mt versus SHFE 1203 copper contract.