Movements in the prices of base metals on the London Metal Exchange were mixed at the close of trading on Tuesday October 23, with tin's strong performance leading the gains across the complex despite a strong US dollar index and broadly risk-averse investors.
The three-month tin price has climbed by 2.8% since the start of October and reached an intraday high on Tuesday of $19,400 per tonne. It has found support on recent news of a possible disruption to the supply of Indonesian exports because of a government-ordered suspension of PT Surveyors, a key smelter inspector."Frankly, I'm quite lucky," a European tin trader told Fastmarkets. "I had my tin delivered on a vessel [that left port] before the announcement [of the suspension]. Something strange is going on, and this impasse must be resolved soon [or] people are going to start losing money."Another factor supporting price rises was that total LME tin stocks were down by 5.8% week on week, dipping...