SMM survey: Some of the tin producers to resume on February 10 due to coronavirus outbreak

SHANGHAI, Jan 31 (SMM) – An SMM survey showed that post-holiday resumptions at tin companies will vary by region due to the recent coronavirus outbreak.

As of January 29, 10 provinces or cities, including Shanghai, Guangdong, Jiangsu, Zhejiang and Yunnan, required that local companies (except public utilities related companies) must not resume operations earlier than 24:00 CST February 9.

The Chinese government has already extended the Chinese New Year (CNY) holiday to February 2 nationally in order to avoid a further escalation in the coronavirus outbreak.

In Yunnan, most tin smelters are not sure when they will resume sales, while others have shown intention of making offers on February 3 but sales will depend on downstream demand and logistics.

The government of Jiangxi did not set a mandatory requirement on the resumption date for local companies, and some upstream producers plan to resume operations after February 8. Downstream producers are concentrated in south China, and some of them plan to resume production after February 8.

The spot tin market is expected to be quiet, even after the Shanghai Futures Exchange  re-opens on February 3. Trading activity is likely to gradually turn active after February 8.