Tin prices to stay at $8,000 to $9,000 until '06: Report

Tin prices will likely to stay at the current level between US$8,000 to $9,000 a metric ton until 2006 as supply lags demand for the metal, an executive at the world's largest integrated tin miner was quoted by Dow Jones as saying on Monday.

"Global demand is increasing every year, while supply (from main tin exporters) is insufficient. It will support tin prices at that level," Thobrani Alwi, president director of PT Timah, said in a hearing with legislators.

Tin is used mainly in chemical, electronics and plating sectors.

Tin prices on the London Metal Exchange for the third quarter of 2004 moved between $8,650 to $9,350/ton.

The company received an average price of $8,193/ton in the January to September period, up 72 percent from $4,758/ton for the same period last year.

At the current price level, revenue from tin sales is expected to reach between $250 million to $270 million this year, Thobrani said.

Timah expects to produce between 35,000 to 40,000 tons of tin this year, down from 45,906 tons in 2003. (*)