SHANGHAI, Oct. 17 (SMM) – Copper for delivery in January on the Shanghai Futures Exchange (SHFE), opened RMB 320/mt higher at RMB 52,520/mt on Thursday, as LME copper recovered losses overnight. However, the contract wiped out earlier gains after hitting RMB 52,660/mt, weighted down by longs taking profits. This was exacerbated by short sellers entering the market, sending the red metal down below RMB 52,000/mt before noon. In the afternoon session, LME copper failed to hold onto USD 7,200/mt, driving SHFE 1401 copper contract down further to RMB 51,730/mt. Finally, SHFE copper for January delivery ended down RMB 400/mt or 0.77% at RMB 51,800/mt. Trading volumes and positions soared by 22,888 lots and 10,670 lots, respectively. The red metal will test support at RMB 51,800/mt.