Metals - Tin hits record amid supply fears as stocks dwindle to...

Metals - Tin hits record amid supply fears as stocks dwindle to multi-year lows
Tue, Apr 15 2008, 10:15 GMT
http://www.afxnews.com



LONDON (Thomson Financial) - Tin prices rose to a fresh all-time high as LME-monitored stocks of the grey metal fell for the eighth day in a row to hit their lowest level since 2005, and amid reports Indonesia is set to further limit its output this year.


Warehouse inventories fell 115 tonnes this morning to 7,980 tonnes, the LME said in its daily stocks report. Prices promptly rose to a fresh all-time high of $21,300 a tonne, some 30 percent above the level they traded at at the beginning of the year.


"Inventories are getting to extremely low levels and have been falling consistently since September last year," BNP Paribas analyst David Thurtell said. "The market is very tight."


Reports that Indonesia, the world's second largest producer of tin, may be further limiting production this year are also pushing prices higher, analysts said.


By 10.54 a.m., London Metal Exchange tin for three-month delivery had eased back a touch to trade at $21,100 a tonne against $20,795.


Tin has already rallied sharply over the last year after exports fell from major producers Indonesia and China, the world's biggest tin miner, pressuring LME inventories.


China has been a net importer of the metal since last September, and in January imposed a 10 percent export tax on tin in a bid to protect local supply. Meanwhile, a government investigation into illegal tin mining in Indonesia continues to crimp its output.