SHANGHAI, Jan. 20 (SMM) – LME copper price hovered near USD 5,745/mt during Asian hours and fell during European hours to end at USD 5,670/mt on Monday, down by USD 108.25/mt, or 1.87%. Positions increased 3,018.

Iran Oil Minister Bijan Zanganeh said on Tuesday that OPEC has no plans to hold an emergency meeting to discuss the recent slide in oil prices, and Iran will be little affected even if oil prices fall to USD 25/bbl. Crude oil prices fell slightly on Monday.

French President Hollande said the European Central Bank will announce to buy sovereign bonds this Thursday, raising expectation for further quantitative easing.

SHFE most-active copper contract opened at RMB 41,200/mt for Monday’s night session and rallied to RMB 40,750/mt before falling back to RMB 41,590/mt. The March-delivery copper finished the session at RMB 41,200/mt, down RMB 200/mt. Trading volumes of the most active contract were about 220,000 lots, and positions shrank by 908.

SHFE 1503 copper contract is expected to trade at RMB 41,000-41,500/mt on January 20. Spot copper will be quoted at premiums of RMB 30-120/mt.