Tin recoups all of 2013 losses on supply issues

UNITED KINGDOM September 30 2013 1:38 PM

LONDON (Scrap Register): Tin is the only base metal to have recouped all its losses since the beginning of the year.

“First and foremost, this was doubtless due to the new regulatory requirements in Indonesia, which are likely to have significantly reduced tin exports from the world’s largest exporter of tin,” Commerzbank added.

“PT Timah, the biggest Indonesian tin producer, estimates that only 3,000 tons of tin were exported in September. If this figure is correct, it would constitute the lowest export volume since November 2011 and could lead to a bottleneck on the world market,” they added.

“The reduced supply from Indonesia is already being reflected in LME (London Metal Exchange) stock levels, too. Since the end of August, tin stocks in the LME warehouses have declined by 13% to 13,500 tons. In our opinion, the tin price is likely to be well-supported and continue its upswing for as long as Indonesian tin exports remain low and stocks continue to fall,” the firm continued.

The metal finished 2012 at $23,400 and fell as far as $18,850 last summer before recovering.