Rising Futures Center Suppressed Buying, Trading Cooled Today After Partial Demand Release Yesterday [SMM Tin Midday Review]

Tin Midday Review, April 29, 2026

This morning, tin futures in and outside China rose rapidly. The most-traded SHFE tin SN2606 contract closed at 388,580 yuan/mt in the morning session, up 0.81%. LME followed suit, with three-month tin temporarily quoted at $49,665/mt, up 1.14%.

Macro front, attention continued on ex-China geopolitical developments: (1) The US prohibited domestic individuals or entities from paying Strait of Hormuz transit fees to Iran, and non-US individuals or entities paying Hormuz safe passage fees to Iran would also face significant sanctions risks; (2) According to the Islamic Republic News Agency on April 29, Mojtaba Ferdowsipour, head of Iran's interests section in Cairo, Egypt, stated that US attempts to force Iran into accepting unilateral demands through a naval blockade were futile, as Iran could bypass the blockade using land borders with neighboring countries. Ferdowsipour reiterated that Iran had the right to control the security of the Strait of Hormuz. Overall, the Middle East geopolitical situation remained in a stalemate, with no conclusion from multi-party negotiations. Before the geopolitical situation ultimately clarified, macro sentiment had yet to form a clear one-sided driver, and futures capital largely maintained a wait-and-see stance with fluctuating stability.

Spot market, as prices declined yesterday, some downstream enterprises' pre-holiday stockpiling demand saw some release, facilitating partial transactions. However, absolute prices remained elevated, and downstream purchase actions were relatively restrained. This morning, as the SHFE tin contract center rebounded again, spot buying interest cooled, and market inquiry activity notably weakened.

Overall, the prolonged geopolitical stalemate on the macro front made it difficult for futures to establish a one-sided trend, while the spot side was constrained by absolute high prices with limited trading continuity. Tin prices are expected to continue anchoring around current levels in the near term, maintaining wild swings.