For decades the tin market has moved from one crisis to another, and the current world recession is now raising new challenges for all stakeholders in the industry. In the short-term the market is again oversupplied, but in a few years the situation could change dramatically. Though global demand for tin has fallen rapidly to an estimated 350,000 tonnes in 2008, the 15 tin companies listed on the ASX are doing extremely well. Check out an overview.
The Kuala Lumpur Tin Market, which posted losses for three consecutive days, is expected to see steady trading next week. For full story, click here
Long tin positions are a major bugbear for the tin industry. Committee members at the London Metal Exchange are angry at the LME’s lack of action on the large scale long tin positions. Market concerns centre on the September-December 2009 contracts and the amount of available metal stored in LME tin inventories, after a large number of positions were built up last week. And in other spy tales, an Australian executive with mining giant Rio Tinto was being held in China as a suspected spy.
Indonesia has approved an export permit for a new tin smelter, bringing the total number of smelters allowed to 30. For full story, click here
Wednesday, July 22, 2009