China imported 3,318t refined tin in September according to China Custom data, up by 13% compared to August, although the rise in LME prices last month had eliminated obvious arbitrage opportunities. We believe the high volume was due to delayed arrivals of shipments. The main sources were Indonesia and Malaysia. Total imports in China were 22,960t in January to September, more than double imports in the same period of last year.
Chinese refined tin production decreased by 5% to 107,394t in the first nine months of this year according to CNIA data. The reduction partly offsets the pressure from the large volume of imports. But tin demand in China is still reported to be weak and stocks are believed to have continued rising.
China imported 2,245t tin concentrate (gross weight) in September and 25,780t in January – September, up by 67% and 33% year-on-year. Concentrates imports from Bolivia to China have increased remarkably, with 6,330t recorded in first nine months of this year, fifteen times last year’s corresponding level, and 1,511t in September.
