Trump said the 90-day window for trade negotiations with the EU would be restored, but transactions in the spot market remained sluggish, falling short of expectations [SMM Morning Tin News]

SMM Tin Morning News on May 26, 2025:

Futures Market: The most-traded SHFE tin contract (SN2506) fluctuated rangebound during the night session, with a slight decline before the close. The price slid moderately to around 264,000 yuan/mt, down 0.1% from the previous trading day. Open interest decreased by 2,234 lots to 19,400 lots.

Macro: (1) US chip giant NVIDIA is reportedly set to launch an artificial intelligence (AI) chip based on the Blackwell architecture for the Chinese market, with a selling price significantly lower than the previous H20 chip. Production is expected to commence as early as June. (Bullish ★) (2) US President Trump stated on Friday local time that the tariff threats he issued to Apple earlier in the day would also target other device manufacturers, including Samsung Electronics, to encourage these companies to relocate their manufacturing to the US. (Bullish ★) (3) TSMC (TSM.N) warned that the US's proposed tariff hikes on foreign-made chips could jeopardize its investment of up to $165 billion in advanced semiconductor manufacturing facilities in Arizona. (4) Tariffs - ① Trump urged the EU to make unilateral concessions, while the EU insisted on the "reciprocity principle." ② Japanese Prime Minister Ishiba Shigeru held a 45-minute phone call with Trump, during which Trump did not make any remarks on tariffs. Ishiba reiterated his request for the US to lift tariffs. ③ Trump threatened to impose a 25% tariff on iPhones not manufactured in the US. ④ Trump claimed that discussions with the EU had made no progress and suggested imposing a direct 50% tariff on the EU starting from June 1. ⑤ The European Commission refused to comment on US trade tariffs until the EU Trade Commissioner speaks with the US Trade Representative. ⑥ US Treasury Secretary Bessent: The 50% tariff threat is a response to the EU's pace of action, hoping it will incentivize the EU to take action. The US has made significant progress in trade negotiations with India and Asian countries. More agreements will be announced within the next 90 days. (Neutral)

Fundamentals: (1) Supply-side disruptions: Alphamin Resources Corp.'s Bisie tin mine produced 1,290 mt of metal tin between April 15 and May 11, 2025, achieving the expected processing recovery rate. Tin production commenced by processing raw ore stockpiles from the mine, initially from the Mpama North plant, followed by the restart of the Mpama South plant on April 19, 2025. Blasting and transportation of underground ore began in the last week of April 2025, while the mine development rate also increased. Since the restart of the mine, the first batch of fully documented and approved tin concentrates for export was dispatched by truck on May 9, 2025. (Bullish ★) (2) Demand side: After the Labour Day holiday, some downstream processing enterprises gradually resumed operations, and there was some release of demand for restocking at lower prices. However, high-price transactions remained sluggish. (Bearish ★)

Spot Market: High prices suppress demand, with rigid demand dominating. Prices fluctuated at highs at the beginning of the week. Smelters held onto their prices and were reluctant to sell, while traders quoted prices actively. However, downstream purchase willingness was low, and market trading was sluggish. Some downstream players restocked at lower prices, but overall transactions were still dominated by rigid demand.