Shanghai base metals basically trended lower on Monday morning amid risk aversion sentiments after the discovery of a super strong variant of COVID-19 was discover last Friday. Meanwhile, their counterparts on LME all cruised higher. LME metals all closed lower in the trading last Friday. Copper dropped 3.24%, aluminium fell 4.53%, lead decreased 0.24%, and zinc fell 3.85%. SHFE metals basically fell across the board in the overnight trading last Friday. Copper dropped 2.39%, aluminium fell 3.27%, zinc decreased 3.24%, nickel shed 4%, and lead inched up 0.03%. A super strong variant of COVID-19 was discovered in South Africa on Friday. The market was worried that a new round of pandemic will directly affect economic recovery and threaten global demand. On Friday, the VIX panic index burst by over 50%. Amid risk aversion sentiments, US oil fell more than 13%, a record low since September 1. European and US stocks and commodities also fell sharply. The spot prices pulled back from high levels to around 70,000 yuan/mt, and the premiums returned to the level before the delivery of SHFE 2111 copper contract. The downstream purchase will pick up significantly this week. The traders will purchase goods at low prices at the end of November. The spot premiums will stand stable at low levels.