tin at 11 month high! & going higher..

Tin Reaches Highest Level Since February 2012
http://invezz.com/news/commodities/1177-tin-price-climbs-to-11-month-high

As reported by The Financial Times on 9 January 2013, tin prices rose to an 11-month high after the commodity used in electronics components was boosted by continued market expectations of strengthening demand and decreasing production.

Tin was the best performer amongst the six main industrial metals in London last year, with its price gaining 22.4 per cent amid an output decline from leading tin producers.Peter Kettle of the International Tin Research Institute told the FT: “There are worries about supply stability while the electronics sector has been picking up.” He added that most of the major tin producers’ output levels are poised to fall further this year in addition to current estimates that worldwide production declined between 6 and 7 per cent in 2012.

Tin price has also been lifted by institutional buying linked to changes in commodities indices. Combined, these factors sent the price of the metal for three-month delivery on the London Metal Exchange (LME) to its highest level since February last year. As of 9 January 2013 tin price hit $24,600 a tonne, before trading at $24,450, up 1.2 per cent on the day.

Tin Exports from Indonesia Rise

On 10 January 2013, Bloomberg reported that refined tin shipments from Indonesia -- the metal’s largest exporter accounting for about 40 percent of global trade --rose 9.4 percent in December 2012 from a month earlier, after prices gained for a second consecutive month. The news agency cited data from the country’s Trade Ministry released today, which shows that Indonesia’s tin exports rose to 8,689.2 metric tonnes from 7,946 tonnes in November 2012.These figures, however, compare to overseas sales of 15,103 tonnes in December 2011.The ministry data further showed that last month Indonesia shipped the industrial metal to 13 countries, with Singapore taking about 66 per cent of exports. Other major buyers included Malaysia, Japan, China and Germany.

On the back of the increasing expectations of accelerated exports from Indonesia, market participants raised concerns over the recent price surge. According to analysts, higher tin supplies may halt the current rally, potentially easing revenue at Malaysia Smelting Corp. (PINK:MSGCF) and PT Timah (PINK:PTTMF) -- the world’s second- and third-largest producers.

Increased Demand from Electronicsand Falling Production Lift Metal’s Price, Indonesia Boosts Exports
Base Metals Could Be in for Lacklustre Trading, but Outlook Remains Positive

Copper for three-month delivery yesterday fellon the LME by 0.2 per cent to $8,061.75 a tonne, while zinc declined 0.1 per cent to $2,019.50 a tonne and aluminium rose 0.5 per cent to $2,076 a tonne.

According to some analysts, base metals markets could be in for a period of lacklustre trading, as commodity traders in the top consumer of industrial metals, China, stay on the sidelines until after the Chinese New Year next month. Yet some market participants expect metals and bulk commodities to benefit from the recent recovery in the world’s second-largest economy. And while “political uncertainty could continue to crop up periodically,” analysts at Deutsche Bank in London expect financial investors to be active in the metals markets this year as interest rates remain low.

The bank forecast an 8.9 per cent rise in tin price, 7.3 per cent increase in iron ore and 1.6 per cent advance in copper for 2013.