PT Timah has restarted spot sales after the recent surge in tin prices, according to President Director Sukrisno, reversing a decision to curb supplies after less than a month. Its total sales may rise to 36,000 to 37,000 tonnes this year Sukrisno told Bloomberg News. Timah’s production this year is expected to be about 38,000 tonnes, almost the same as in 2011, when its refined metal output was 38,132 tonnes and mine production was 37,486 tonnes of tin-in-concentrate. However the latest sales estimate would represents a 6 – 9% increase on last year’s level of 33,971 tonnes.
The Indonesian state-controlled company announced that it was halting spot sales on 3 August, as LME tin prices fell towards $17,000/tonne. However the announcement, plus further reports of price-related closures of private smelters and the impact of post-Ramadan holidays on Indonesian supply all helped underpin a recovery to over $20,000/tonne by the end of last week. The rally was also sparked by short-covering purchases by investment funds, in response to speculation regarding the possible easing of monetary policy by major central banks.
