SHANGHAI, Mar. 20 (SMM) – The US Federal Reserve decided to continue tapering its bond-buying program. LME zinc fluctuated in a tight USD 1,975-1,980/mt range during the Asian hours after opening Wednesday at USD 1,985.5/mt. The metal moved lower to USD 1,954/mt in early European session, but then recovered earlier losses as LME copper rose significantly and as investors closed short positions, closing the day USD 5.3/mt or 0.27% higher at USD 1,985.5/mt. Trading volumes surged 3,467 lots to 14,558 lots, while positions tumbled 13,494 lots to 291,061 lots. Inventories dropped 2,025 mt to 788,900 mt.

SHFE 1406 zinc contract followed LME zinc down to RMB 14,620/mt after starting Wednesday’s night session at RMB 14,705/mt. The most active contract, however, hit an intraday high of RMB 14,890/mt later in the session as investors closed short positions, ending up RMB 110/mt or 0.75% at RMB 14,860/mt. Trading volumes during the night hours soared 39,838 lots to 51,774 lots, and positions added 696 lots to 76,180 lots.

LME zinc is expected to move between USD 1,970-2,000/mt on Thursday. SHFE 1406 zinc contract should vacillate in a RMB 14,820-14,940/mt band, while spot zinc prices in Shanghai are expected at a discount of RMB 70-100/mt over the most active SHFE zinc contract.