SHANGHAI, May 22 (SMM) – The July-delivery copper on Shanghai Futures Exchange plunged this past week and is expected to stay low at 44,300-45,500 yuan per tonne next week, SMM analyst predicts.

A mild rally in China’s stock prices may help bolster the red metal. However, trading volumes of SHFE copper contracts will continue to decline with funds flooding into stock markets, which will leave copper prices in a narrow range.

“With such low trading volumes, the August-delivery copper may be unable to roll over to the new most-active one next week,” SMM’s Zhou says.