SHFE Tin Futures Center Shifted Upward with Wider Fluctuations, High Absolute Prices Led to Sluggish Market Trading [SMM Tin Midday Review]

Tin Midday Review, Jun 1, 2026

This morning, the tin market in and outside China saw futures generally fluctuate higher. The most-traded SHFE tin contract opened at 425,850 yuan/mt, reached a morning high of 431,960 yuan/mt, and closed the morning session at 429,460 yuan/mt, up 0.71%. LME moved higher in tandem, with LME three-month tin holding up well during the session, temporarily quoted at $55,635/mt, up 0.51%.

On the macro front:

(1) The manufacturing PMI fell to 51.8 in May, with expansion momentum contracting, down 0.4 percentage points from April. Production and demand side, expansion continued but the pace slowed down. Output continued to grow, but the growth rate pulled back from April. Total new orders remained in expansion, but growth slowed down. New export orders declined from April, falling into contraction territory. Price indicators side, cost and price gains both slowed down. Overall, the manufacturing expansion pace slowed down MoM in May, but the underlying operation remained stable. The sustained expansion in new orders and output provided a floor for the industry, and easing cost-side pressures helped improve enterprise profit expectations. However, the contraction in external demand orders is a risk point that warrants attention going forward.

(2) The US Central Command issued a statement on June 1 stating that over the past weekend, the US military carried out so-called "self-defense strikes" on drone radar and command-and-control sites at Gorluk and Qeshm Island in Iran.

Spot market side, as the futures price center shifted higher this morning, wait-and-see sentiment continued to dominate the spot market. Fluctuations in the US dollar index amplified the range of futures fluctuations. However, with the futures price center gradually shifting higher recently, and supply from major overseas producing regions forming a floor, current macro sentiment leaned warm, and futures trended generally stronger. Overall, the most-traded SHFE tin contract is expected to continue its fluctuating trend in the short term, but caution is warranted against pullback risks in the absence of clear directional cues.