Tin premiums in Europe, North America and Asia were stable over the week to July 3, with demand reportedly slowing before the summer period, while a recent slump in LME tin's three-month price to a four-year low has prompted further questions about the LME tin price's current instability.
European participants ponder demand impulses Excess supply caps US premiums Closed import arbitrage window limits Asian businessEuropean premiums steady despite tumbling LME priceIn Europe, Fastmarkets assessed the premium for 99.9% standard-grade tin ingot with 300ppm lead content, on an in-warehouse Rotterdam basis, at $380-430 per tonne on Tuesday July 3, with the premium range at its lowest level since November 2018. Price action in LME tin futures tumbled to a four-year low on Tuesday July 2, hitting its lowest level since 2015 at an intraday low of $17,585 per tonne amid broadly technical selling activity. "We'd heard that the spark for this was news that Japan may limit exports to Korea and particularly exports of semi-conductors and electronics," a Europe-based trade source told Fastmarkets. "Chinese traders and funds jumped on that assuming it would mean poorer demand for tin, which is already not good. That was the spark for...