SHANGHAI, Mar. 17 (SMM) – The most active SHFE 1404 lead contract price essentially hovered between RMB 13,610-13,620/mt after starting higher at RMB 13,615/mt, and closed up RMB 55/mt or 0.41% at RMB 13,615/mt in last Friday’s night session. During the trading hours, trading volumes were only 26 lots, while positions were off 16 lots to 7,880 lots. European and US stocks fell across the board after the geopolitical crisis in Ukraine was aggravated by last Sunday’s referendum in the Crimea region. Pressured by overwhelming bearish sentiment, SHFE 1404 lead contract prices fluctuated most of the time around RMB 13,560/mt, and then touched a high of RMB 13,610/mt, boosted by positive news from China’s urbanization plans. The metal dipped to RMB 13,540/mt at the tail of the trading, and finished up RMB 5/mt or 0.04% at RMB 13,565/mt on Monday. Trading volumes shrunk 270 lots to 830 lots, and positions contracted 160 lots to 7,736 lots. Positions for SHFE 1405 lead contract stood at 7,126 lots. SHFE lead prices still face massive downward pressures given bearish technical indicators.