SHANGHAI, Oct. 23 (SMM) – Spot tin prices in Shanghai continued to fall on Monday due to weak LME tin prices. In the morning, transactions were mainly done for Yunxiang and Nanshan, with traded prices at RMB 150,500/mt. Yunxi, Yunshan and Yunheng were mainly traded at RMB 151,000-152,000/mt. In the afternoon, some cargo holders lowered prices on account of quiet trading, with Nanshan quoted as low as RMB 149,000/mt. Other brands were also traded around RMB 150,000/mt. The sluggish demand and falling prices continued to depress market confidence and weigh down the overall market.

According to SMM survey, 70% market players believe spot tin prices should continue to fall this week possibly to a low of RMB 148,000/mt. LME tin prices fluctuated narrowly and tested a previous low on Monday, the upward momentum from last week failed to last long. Thus, investors expect LME lead prices should still present a weak trend. In this context, China’s tin prices will be deprived of any impetus to rise due to soft consumption downstream and the falling prices. This situation is unlikely to turn around in the short term. Some pessimistic investors even expect that spot tin prices may fall to RMB 145,000/mt should LME tin prices continue the downtrend.

30% market players note that spot tin prices may stabilize after dipping to the bottom. LME tin prices have staged a weak trend on Monday. Besides, some officials expressed their concerns about the real effects of QE3 to US economic recovery. In this negative context, spot lead prices stand high chance to fall further. However, these market players believe LME tin prices may rise to USD 22,000/mt due to technical factors. Thus, spot tin prices will gain certain support should LME tin prices increase as expected, and spot tin prices are expected to stop falling but will unlikely rise.