SMM Brief on SHFE Copper Prices on May 21

SHANGHAI, May 21 (SMM) – As LME copper steadied last Friday, the most active SHFE 1209 copper contract opened RMB 610/mt higher at RMB 55,680/mt Monday. The US dollar fell during the day, so LME copper stabilized above USD 7,700/mt. Coupled with slightly increasing Chinese stock markets, the contract continued to rebound after breaking resistance at the RMB 56,000/mt mark, climbing to as high as RMB 56,130/mt in the afternoon. However, as new shorts entered markets at the tail of trading, SHFE 1209 copper contract pared daily gains but still ended RMB 820/mt or 1.49% higher at RMB 55,890/mt finally, with positions and trading volumes decreasing by 1,612 lots and 176,000 lots, respectively. Positions and trading volumes for all SHFE copper contracts fell by 20,410 lots and 346,000 lots, respectively. Shorts generally closed positions during the whole trading day, while longs were still wary of operations. SMM sees limited rebound room for the foreseeable future.