SHANGHAI, Jul. 8 (SMM) – The US nonfarm payrolls were reported up 195,000 in June, exceeding the 165,000 expected and the previous 175,000, with unemployment rate unchanged at 7.6%. The recovering employment aggravated market concerns over Fed’s exit from QE3. US dollar kept rising to a new high since July 2010 and tended to increase further. S&P lowered the outlook for Portugal from “Stable” to “Negative” due to the political uncertainties in the country, driving the euro to a new low of the year of 1.28. Base metals thus fell across the board, and LME lead prices dropped below USD 2,000/mt after opening at USD 2,067.5/mt, but rose slightly before closing at USD 2,031.3/mt, down USD 36.8/mt. Trading volumes were up 4,908 lots to 6,651 lots, and positions increased 3,207 lots to around 122,000 lots. LME lead inventories dropped 250 mt to 197,325 mt.