SHANGHAI, Dec. 1 (SMM) – SHFE 1601 lead opened at RMB 12,680/mt for night trading Monday and ranged between RMB 12,585-12,790/mt, to close at RMB 12,655/mt, up by RMB 70/mt or 0.56%.

Caixin China’s manufacturing PMI came at 48.6 in November, beating forecast and October’s level but still below 50. Besides, the official PMI hit a new low at 49.6 since August 2012. As a whole, Chinese manufacturing industry still faces downward pressure.

The January-delivery lead on the SHFE advanced to RMB 12,800/mt on Tuesday due to exit of shorts and closed the day at RMB 12,765/mt, up by RMB 180/mt or 1.43%. Trading volumes fell 1,542 to 10,482 lots and positions reduced 982 to 12,054.

With promising technical indicators, SHFE 1601 lead outperforms other base metals. Also, position opening by longs is above that by shorts for SHFE 1602 lead. Positions will continue to fall with shorts exiting market. As such, SHFE 1601 lead will keep strong in short term.