SHANGHAI, Jul. 20 (SMM) – LME tin prices opened at USD 18,800/mt overnight due to market expectations on further stimulus plans by central banks and closed at USD 19,100/mt, up USD 350/mt from the previous trading day, with the intraday high at USD 19,399/mt and a low of USD 18,800/mt. Daily trading volumes rose 114 lots to 300 lots, and positions were up 93 lots to 19,409 lots. LME tin inventories were 11,715 mt, down 200 mt.

On July 19, German parliament agreed on the plan from EFSF to rescue Spanish banking system worth up to EUR 100 billion, but both the chancellor and finance minister of Germany said Spain should maintain austerity policy and be responsible for the liability. In Spain, the 10-year government bond yield again rose close to 7%, pushing Spain’s parliament to approve austerity plan. This has boosted investor confidence and pushing the euro up. In the US, the Labor Department overnight released the initial jobless claims for the week ended July 14, the figure was up 34,000 to 386,000, higher than expected. US existing home sales slipped 5.4% during June to 4.37 billion homes, an eight month low. The weakening US economic data added to expectations on adoption of QE3 measures, dragging down the US dollar index and boosting LME base metals. In China, investors expect China should introduce further easing policies due to Premire Wen’s remark on creating more jobs, helping support metal prices.

In China’s domestic markets, spot tin prices should be between RMB 146,500-148,000/mt on July 20.