SHANGHAI, Sept. 17 (SMM) – SHFE 1511 copper opened at RMB 40,940/mt for night trading Wednesday and then dropped to RMB 40,780/mt. But later the contract moved higher to RMB 41,210/mt in response to weaker dollar and rising crude oil prices, to end RMB 470/mt higher at RMB 41,110/mt. Positions were down 2,348 to 197,692 with trading volumes around 270,000 lots. 

A powerful magnitude-8.3 earthquake hit off Chile’s northern coast Wednesday night. COMEX copper prices increased first. SHFE copper responded by touching an intra-day high of RMB 41,380/mt on Thursday. However, the red metal then lurched down to RMB 40,780/mt responding to a slip in Chinese stock market, to end at RMB 40,990/mt, gaining RMB 350/mt or 0.86%. Positions slid 4,424 to 195,616 with trading volumes expanding to 670,000 lots. About 30 minutes from the session end, positions decreased 8,000. This reflected that the upcoming US Fed interest rate meeting leads to cautious sentiment in market.

Copper prices are expected to grow in the near future following an earthquake in Chile during the traditional high demand season.