The Most-Traded Contract Hovered at Highs, Spot Market Trading Sluggish [SMM Tin Midday Review]

SHFE Tin Midday Review, May 27, 2026

The most-traded SHFE tin contract opened at 422,000 yuan/mt in the morning session, swung wildly intraday, touched a high of 428,780 yuan/mt, and closed at 426,000 yuan/mt by the end of the morning session, down slightly by 0.05%. LME tin remained relatively stable, with the three-month contract temporarily quoted at $55,360/mt, up 0.33%.

On the macro front:

(1) Data from the National Bureau of Statistics showed that from January to April, profits of above-designated-size raw material manufacturing industries were up 88.1% YoY, accelerating by 10.2 percentage points from the January-March period, boosting profits of all above-designated-size industrial enterprises by 10.3 percentage points.

(2) According to relevant geopolitical maritime forces, over the past 24 hours, 25 oil tankers, container ships, and other commercial vessels transited a previously high-profile key shipping lane with authorization. Commercial navigation in the waters is gradually returning to normal, with the implementation effects of the relevant draft agreement becoming evident.

Spot market, trading activity was sluggish overall this morning, with wait-and-see sentiment particularly strong among downstream enterprises at current price levels. Market inquiries were limited, and suppliers mostly held firm on prices while waiting, with mainstream brand quotations still maintained at premiums of around 1,000-1,500 yuan/mt.

Overall, although fundamentals-related news provided some support to the price floor, the core driver of futures currently remained macro sentiment fluctuations. The most-traded SHFE tin contract is expected to maintain range-bound wild swings in the near term. Close attention should be paid to the direction of macro capital sentiment flows, as well as the latest developments in major producing regions outside China.