June 17, 2026, Tin Midday Review
This morning, tin futures in and outside China consolidated at highs. The most-traded SHFE tin contract opened at 424,770 yuan/mt and closed the morning at 422,510 yuan/mt, down 0.33%. On the LME, three-month tin futures stood at $55,180/mt, up 0.27%.
Macro front,
(1) The US Fed held an FOMC monetary policy meeting on June 16-17, with the rate decision to be announced at 2 a.m. Beijing time on June 18. This is the first meeting chaired by newly appointed Chair Warsh. CME FedWatch data showed a 98.5% probability of maintaining the 3.50%-3.75% rate range unchanged, with the market focusing on the post-meeting policy statement and guidance on the pace of balance sheet reduction.
(2) The two-day Lujiazui Forum officially kicked off on June 16, themed "Financial Development and Cooperation under the Global Governance Initiative: New Visions, New Challenges, and New Opportunities," co-chaired by the head of the National Financial Regulatory Administration and the mayor of Shanghai. Attendees included heads of the People's Bank of China, the China Securities Regulatory Commission, the State Administration of Foreign Exchange, and over 70 guests from financial regulatory and international institutions in and outside China. The forum featured sub-forums on tech finance, capital markets, and sustainable finance. The market expects the implementation of a range of financial opening-up supporting policies, including technology innovation financing, foreign exchange derivatives, and offshore yuan trading.
Spot market, facing the currently high absolute prices, downstream enterprises showed limited willingness to take delivery. This morning, overall spot market trading remained sluggish, with few buyer inquiries and a lack of new firm orders.
Overall, the most-traded SHFE tin contract is expected to continue fluctuating at highs in the short term. Amid the interplay of wait-and-see sentiment and negative feedback from the spot market, its trading center is likely to edge down slightly. Attention should be paid to the policy stance released by the US Fed meeting and the actual impact of the Middle East memorandum being signed.
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