BEIJING, Feb 11 (Reuters) – Shanghai zinc fell more than 3 percent on Monday, the first trading session after a week-long national holiday, tracking a drop in London prices in the previous session. London zinc fell 1 percent to $2,704 per tonne on Friday. “Chinese zinc prices are expected to track London prices lower… Meanwhile, zinc could be even more volatile before demand from downstream users re-emerges in March,” CITIC Futures analysts said in a note in Mandarin. FUNDAMENTALS: * The most-traded zinc contract for March delivery on the Shanghai Futures Exchange fell as much as 3.2 percent, its sharpest intraday drop in 11 weeks, before settling down 3 percent at 21,605 yuan ($3,188.37) a tonne when the market closed for lunch at 0330 GMT.
* ZINC SPREAD: Cash zinc has moved from a premium to a discount against the three-month LME contract MZN0-3 for the first time since September, suggesting shortages in nearby supply are easing. * TRADE: U.S. negotiators are preparing to press China this week on longstanding demands that it reform how it treats American companies’ intellectual property in order to seal a trade deal that could prevent tariffs from rising on Chinese imports.
* DOLLAR: The dollar stayed near a six-week high against a basket of currencies as fresh worries over U.S.-Sino trade tensions and global growth pushed investors towards the safety of the greenback.
* COPPER: Chilean state miner Codelco said on Saturday it hoped to soon restart operations at its northern Chuquicamata copper mine a day after heavy rains forced its suspension.
* IRONORE: China iron ore futures rose to a record on Monday, the first session after a week-long national holiday, on concerns that supply from Brazil, the country’s second-largest ore supplier, may decline after a fatal dam accident at a Vale mine.
