On August 4, tin prices extended their gains. In the spot market, smelters showed more willingness to sell at elevated prices, but traders took less material as they had already built up sizeable inventories earlier. Downstream, only a handful of customers made hand-to-mouth purchases, with overall buying interest remaining sluggish. End-users were largely on the sidelines and placed few orders. The overall market trading was thin, with most traders reporting sales of only around 0–5 tonnes. From a macro perspective, the U.S. June JOLTS report pointed to cautious hiring and layoffs, while the labour market had yet to show clear weakness. This left market expectations unchanged that the Fed would remain focused on inflation, and as a result the USD index moved little. Looking ahead, a relatively low USD index in the near term is expected to provide some lift to tin prices, with attention turning to the U.S. July non-farm payrolls report due this Friday. At the same time, supply-side disruptions in tin ore are lending support to prices. However, the slowdown in trading volumes could act as a drag. In the short term, with bullish and bearish factors intertwined, tin prices are likely to trade rangebound at elevated levels.
