SHFE 1703 Zinc Closes with Declines (2017-2-3)

SHANGHAI, Feb. 3 (SMM) – The People’s Bank of China (PBOC) raised reverse repurchase interest rate by 10 basis points today and also hiked SLF interest rate with those for overnight products up 35 basis points to 3.1%. This gives signals that China is tightening liquidity. Bond and futures slumped, weighing down futures prices. Caixin’s manufacturing PMI for China fell to 51, worse than market expectations, with production and new export order indexes down sharply.

SHFE 1703 zinc opened at RMB 23,275/mt today, and closed at RMB 22,645/mt, down RMB 215/mt or 0.94%.

Trading volumes on SHFE zinc decreased 157,000 lots to 221,000 lots. Trading volumes on SHFE 1703 zinc shrank 3,184 to 156,000 lots, and positions on SHFE 1704 zinc increased 7,292.

Total inventories in Shanghai, Guangdong and Tianjin increased 32,000 mt after the 2017 Chinese New Year holiday. SHFE 1703 zinc should fluctuate at lows in the near term.