SHANGHAI, Mar. 3 (SMM) – The most active SHFE 1405 copper contract started up RMB 50/mt at RMB 49,260/mt in last Friday’s night session, but dipped to RMB 49,120/mt, pressured by strong sell-offs. The red metal finally closed down RMB 60/mt at RMB 49,150/mt. During the night session, trading volumes tumbled by nearly 320,000 lots, while positions fell slightly. Pushed up by short investors liquidating positions, SHFE copper prices rose to an intraday high of RMB 49,380/mt on Monday, but later fell to around RMB 48,750/mt against over 4,000 lots of short positions. During the afternoon trading session, the red metal sank to an intraday low of RMB 48,690/mt after bouncing back to RMB 48,910/mt, and at last finished down RMB 450/mt or 0.91% at RMB 48,760/mt. Trading volumes shed 75,642 lots to 312,000 lots, and positions gained 12,789 lots to 315,000 lots. SHFE copper prices continued to fall along the 5-day moving average, and there is still scope for further declines given prevailing bearish sentiment.