Tin prices fluctuated at high levels on September 22. In terms of market trading, as tin prices remained high, downstream companies showed weak appetite for raw material procurement. End-user orders also showed no major improvement. Overall, market activity was relatively subdued.
On the im/export side, China imported 19,331.99 tonnes of tin ore and concentrates in August (equivalent to about 6,619.69 metal tonnes), up by 41.08% YoY and by 20.32% MoM. Of this, imports from Myanmar were 7,395.46 tonnes, up by 39.66% MoM; imports from the DRC were 3,762.79 tonnes, up by 44.27% MoM. In August, refined tin imports were 2,746.85 tonnes, up by 111.88% YoY and by 21.04% MoM; refined tin exports were 2,202.10 tonnes, up by 26.18% MoM. Tin ore and concentrates imports are expected to edge down in September, refined tin imports to remain around 2,000 tonnes, and exports to hold steady. For tin prices, support remains as raw material imports are unlikely to improve significantly, but weak market consumption and potentially lower-than-expected pre-holiday restocking will cap gains. Tin prices are therefore expected to stay range-bound at high levels in the short term.
