This week, Fastmarkets’
assessment of 99.85% Southeast Asian tin warrants, on an in-warehouse basis, soared to $20-100 per tonne on May 22, from $15-30 per tonne a week earlier.
This was due to market participants reporting to Fastmarkets’ that a fresh inflow of just under 200 tonnes into Antwerp was said to be Europe-origin material of a higher quality than the LME’s minimum threshold of 99.85% tin purity.
This came against a backdrop of increasingly tighter LME tin spreads, with the metal’s nearby cash/three-month spread widening to a backwardation of $320 per tonne on May 23, its widest since 2015.
Several sources reported to Fastmarkets that the Antwerp cargo was delivered into LME warehouses by a distressed seller based in Europe.
“The Antwerp delivery is a panic sale,” a Europe-based tin trader told Fastmarkets. “It was put on-warrant because they couldn’t find anyone to pay...
