GLOBAL TIN WRAP: European premiums hold; US looks to upside; China stable

Global tin premiums were static in the week to Tuesday August 25, with the metal's subdued three-month price on the London Metal Exchange doing little to spur buying activity, while a returning backwardation and concerns over tight supply further limited interest in spot sales.

Backwardation pressure keeps European market quietUS market eyes upside amid falling stocksImport losses cool Chinese buying activity.
European premiums steady despite backwardation
Physical market participants dealing in tin ingots across Europe continued to indicate lackluster trading conditions across the region in August, with summer doldrums and weak buying sentiment capping the spot market interest, despite a lower three-month tin price on the LME.
Yet the return of a backwardation in LME tin's benchmark cash/three-month spread was a further sign of supply tightness, while also limiting spot momentum. The spread was recently seen in a $15 per tonne backwardation, flipping from an $11 per tonne contango last week.

Spread tightness for LME tin came amid continuing concerns over global concentrate shortages, with China's plans to stockpile some 40,000 tonnes of tin giving the greatest concern that the world's largest tin producer was struggling to source...

Bank of Japan boosts rates, continuing an unwinding carry trade

Gold stocks outperform equity market slide

Silver inventories rebound in UK, output from major producers rises

Silver's three-month outperformance continues

Silver & Copper Supply Distortions Continue