SHANGHAI, Apr. 13 (SMM) – The environmental protection inspections recently conducted in Jiangxi cut output at some local tin smelters, but failed to give a boost to tin prices.

Jiangxi’s government started crackdown on polluting producers, especially nonferrous metals producers last December.

SMM understands that production at some tin smelters in Jiangxi was negatively affected by the inspections, but smelters contacted by SMM said it is the anemic demand and high raw material prices that worries them most.

It was rumored earlier that a well-known smelter in Jiangxi had halted production due to environmental protection, but the smelter recently denied it, stating that it was only cutting production.

SMM believes the curtailed output will unlikely help boost tin prices given excess supply and unimproved demand. Although low-priced goods will be fewer, the high inventories at the hand of smelters and traders will continue to weigh down prices, and domestic spot tin prices may fall further should LME tin fails to rally.