SHANGHAI, Apr. 11 (SMM) – The most active SHFE 1405 lead contract price advanced to the range of RMB 13,720-13,750 after starting at RMB 13,710/mt, and ended up RMB 35/mt, or 0.26%, at RMB 13,750/mt during Thursday’s night session. Traded volumes were only 14 lots, while positions were off 8 lots to 6,326 lots.

On Friday, SHFE lead prices initially sank to RMB 13,715/mt, but later surged to RMB 13,785/mt, helped by a sharp rally in LME lead prices. The metal closed up RMB 65/mt, or 0.47%, at RMB 13,780/mt on Friday. Traded volumes gained 338 lots to 996 lots, while positions added 120 lots to 6,454 lots. SHFE lead prices found solid support at RMB 13,700/mt, and are expected to test resistance at the RMB 13,800/mt mark in the near term.

As the delivery date approached, the SHFE 1404 lead contract price still was below physical prices. Positions for the contract rose sharply by over 3,000 lots during the past two trading days, and reached 6,570 lots on Friday.