Tin climbs $65 on the KLTM: Report
Monday, December 15 2003 - 10:34 AM WIB
Spot tin on the Kuala Lumpur Tin Market (KLTM) was quoted at $5,880 a ton after a trade of 64 tons.
On Friday, the price was $5,815, after a transaction of 31 tons.
The Malaysian market was lower for the final two days of last week on technical adjustments to the tin price on the London Metal Exchange (LME). But it got a fillip after LME tin jumped $120 to close last week at $5,910 a ton.
Dealers on the KLTM noted initial placements for 115 tons at Monday's opening from mainly Japanese buyers, against the 64 tons offered for sale.
Bids also came in from local parties but European buyers remained absent despite the premium for shipping a ton of tin to London being cut to $155 from last week's $200.
The shipping premium is made up of insurance, finance and broking costs, among others.
"It appears that most European traders are already on holidays for the year-end and that probably explains their absence today," said a KLTM trader.
The two Indonesian companies, PT Timah Tbk and PT Koba Tin, along with another KLTM member Malaysia Smelting Corporation Bhd., account for one third of global tin supply. (*)