The dip in tin prices over the past two months reflects technical factors and a drop in semiconductor sales but a rebound is hard to envision despite an largely solid fundamental backdrop.
Weakness in the global semiconductor sector has contributed to an 11% drop in the LME three-month tin price since mid-April - the sharpest fall across the base metals.The three-month price fell just 2.9% in 2018 and subsequently climbed this year to peak at $21,800 per tonne on February 25. But it fell on Friday May 3 to its lowest since January 2 at $19,220 per tonne.Worldwide sales of semiconductors dropped 15.5% in the first quarter of 2019 from the corresponding period of last year, the Semiconductor Industry Association (SIA) said.The three-month average of semiconductor sales was down by 20% from December 2018 to February 2019, while sales in the Americas alone fell by 26.6% over that period, according to data released by the SIA. "Sales in...