SHANGHAI, Dec. 30 (SMM) – Overnight, market sentiment improved with gains in rebar and rubber and global stock market. SHFE 1602 copper opened at RMB 36,310/mt for night trading Tuesday and once climbed to RMB 36,780/mt due to exit of shorts, helped by growing crude oil prices. Later, the contract fell back slightly with position closing by longs. Both positions and trading volumes reduced.
The February-delivery lead on the SHFE opened Wednesday trading session at RMB 36,590/mt and then advanced to RMB 36,720/mt due to rising longs. The red metal dropped again due to profit-taking by longs. Positions of SHFE 1602 copper fell 22,178 to 207,492, contributed mainly by shorts, and trading volumes were 480,000 lots. SHFE 1603 copper saw positions up 7,476 to 281,516, contributed mainly by longs, with trading volumes at 260,000 lots.
Limited upside room is in sight for SHFE 1602 copper tonight with resistance at the 60-day moving average. Markets expect US November’s home sales to be upbeat, which will likely support dollar.
