Indonesia may ship 5,000 T of tin in December
Tin smelters in the world's top tin exporter, Indonesia, are likely ship 5,000 tonnes of the base metal in December, an industry group said on Thursday, a move that will push exports to just under 86,000 tonnes for the year, Reuters reports. Smelters in Indonesia's main tin-producing region of Bangka island stopped tin ingot shipments from Oct. 1 in a bid to prop up global prices.
But the export ban faltered this month, despite a sharp fall in November shipments, after October data showed a surprise month-on-month rise.
"There are at least seven tin smelters who have been exporting refined tin in December," Rudy Irawan, chairman of Indonesia Tin Association (ITA), told Reuters.
As of November, Indonesia's tin exports stood at 80,917 tonnes, compared with 92,487 tonnes of tin last year and 99,287 tonnes in 2009.
"If we calculate the six smelters together with PT Timah's exports in December, then we may come to the total export figure of 5,000 tonnes," he said.
On Wednesday, state-owned PT Timah, blamed by some industry players for the failure of the industry shipping ban, said shipments from other producing countries had limited its impact on benchmark prices.
Indonesia is the world's No.2 producer of the metal after China.
London tin traded at $18,775 a tonne on the London Metal Exchange by 0815 GMT. Prices for the metal, mainly used in solders for electronics, have dipped about 10 percent since the ban was introduced.
At the time of the export ban, smelters targeted prices above $23,000 a tonne after benchmark prices for the base metal slumped by almost half from records above $33,000 a tonne hit in April.
Irawan also said the only solution for supporting tin prices going forward was through the new tin contracts.
The new physical tin contract, which was due to be launched on Thursday but postponed until Jan. 12, will be supplied by members of the ITA. It will trade in lots of 5 tonnes per lot, for 15 minutes each day, from 0230 to 0245 local time.
Metals analysts are sceptical that an Indonesian tin contract could rival the benchmark London contract or attract liquidity.
"We are very optimistic about the future of Indonesia tin market, but it has to be supported by all stakeholders, including government," Irawan said.
But the export ban faltered this month, despite a sharp fall in November shipments, after October data showed a surprise month-on-month rise.
"There are at least seven tin smelters who have been exporting refined tin in December," Rudy Irawan, chairman of Indonesia Tin Association (ITA), told Reuters.
As of November, Indonesia's tin exports stood at 80,917 tonnes, compared with 92,487 tonnes of tin last year and 99,287 tonnes in 2009.
"If we calculate the six smelters together with PT Timah's exports in December, then we may come to the total export figure of 5,000 tonnes," he said.
On Wednesday, state-owned PT Timah, blamed by some industry players for the failure of the industry shipping ban, said shipments from other producing countries had limited its impact on benchmark prices.
Indonesia is the world's No.2 producer of the metal after China.
London tin traded at $18,775 a tonne on the London Metal Exchange by 0815 GMT. Prices for the metal, mainly used in solders for electronics, have dipped about 10 percent since the ban was introduced.
At the time of the export ban, smelters targeted prices above $23,000 a tonne after benchmark prices for the base metal slumped by almost half from records above $33,000 a tonne hit in April.
Irawan also said the only solution for supporting tin prices going forward was through the new tin contracts.
The new physical tin contract, which was due to be launched on Thursday but postponed until Jan. 12, will be supplied by members of the ITA. It will trade in lots of 5 tonnes per lot, for 15 minutes each day, from 0230 to 0245 local time.
Metals analysts are sceptical that an Indonesian tin contract could rival the benchmark London contract or attract liquidity.
"We are very optimistic about the future of Indonesia tin market, but it has to be supported by all stakeholders, including government," Irawan said.