SHANGHAI, Mar. 10 (SMM) – The most active SHFE 1405 copper contract dropped to RMB 49,140/mt after starting at RMB 49,180/mt, and then reached as high as RMB 49,310/mt in Thursday’s night session. The red metal later fell back to RMB 49,230/mt, and finished up RMB 70/mt at RMB 49,260/mt. During the night session, trading volumes shed by 185,000 lots, and positions gained by 2,460 lots. SHFE copper prices touched an intraday high of RMB 49,390/mt after opening at RMB 49,260/mt, and fell to RMB 48,890/mt during the afternoon trading hours, dragged down by a fall in LME lead prices. SHFE copper sank to an intraday low of RMB 48,850/mt subsequently, and closed down RMB 270/mt or 0.55% at RMB 48,920/mt. Trading volumes expanded 2,154 lots to 134,000 lots, positions rose 8,686 lots to 284,000 lots. Trading volumes for SHFE 1406 copper contract surged 22,516 lots to 134,000 lots, and positions reached a record high of 201,000 lots. SHFE copper prices have fallen below all moving averages.

Spot copper was offered at discounts of RMB 80-160/mt in Shanghai on Friday. Traded prices were RMB 48,880-48,980/mt for standard-quality copper and RMB 48,900-49,120/mt for high-quality copper. Dragged down by declining SHFE copper prices, spot copper prices fell below RMB 49,000/mt. Cargo holders were active in moving goods, and downstream producers had slightly higher buying interest on Friday. Since price gap between high-quality copper and standard-quality copper remained less than RMB 50/mt, middlemen were inactive in trading. Markets were dominated by wary sentiment due to massive sell-offs on Friday.