Malaysian tin fell on Thursday, dragged down by a retreat on the London Metal Exchange due to further stock increases.
Spot tin on the Kuala Lumpur Tin Market (KLTM) ended down $100, or 1.1 percent, at $9,180 a tonne, extending on Wednesday's 2.2 percent drop. Tin on the LME, which often dictates price direction in Kuala Lumpur, fell $150 on Wednesday to $8,600 a tonne.
"LME is a bit weak at the moment due to a further rise in the stock level, and this is weighing on the market here," said a KLTM dealer. Traders expect the local tin price to fluctuate between $9,000 and $9,500 a tonne in the short term. LME tin stocks rose another 1,050 tonnes to 5,565 on Wednesday. Inventory has more than doubled from the 15-year low of 2,745 tonnes seen last week.
On the KLTM, sellers had offered a total of 120 tonnes initially against bids of only 12 tonnes. Final volume was 37 tonnes, down from Wednesday's 64 tonnes, with Japanese buyers again taking up most of it.
The smaller drop on the KLTM versus the LME widened the premium for shipping a tonne of Malaysian tin to Europe, including freight and other costs, to a pricey $810 from $760 previously, dealers said.
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