Tin prices, production struggle in spite of a market deficit - MetalMiner | Outlook data
(The Insider Stories) — Tin prices are suffering the same loss of momentum as other base metals as weak global economic conditions outweigh a supply deficit in Indonesia and China, MetalMiner reports.
In the medium term, rising electronic production should sustain tin prices despite lower use of solder per appliance as larger electronic items like PCs give way to laptops and in turn to smartphones and tablets, while Indonesia’s exports this year could fall 24% as smelters upgrade to meet a new tin purity benchmark due in July, although with first-quarter exports above normal the drop will need to be significant to boost prices, it says.
Global output fell to 230,000 tonnes last year from 244,000 tonnes in 2011 as government-imposed pollution controls added to weaker prices in the first half of the year and drought in China that affected output, with over 100 small mines and smelters in Yunnan province shut by midyear to reduce pollution, it says.
China’s refined tin production in January and February fell 2% on year although mine output rose 18%, while Chinese imports in February fell 51% on month and 69% on year.
