South Korea’s Public Procurement Service bought 200 tonnes of refined tin by tender on 26 October, bringing its total purchases to 700 tonnes in 2016, well down on typical levels of some 2,000 tpy in recent years.

The PPS bought 100t of Indonesian metal via Posco Daewoo at a cif premium of $575/t to the LME price and 100t of Thaisarco tin through LG International at a premium of $685/t. The tin is due to be delivered to the port of Busan by 25 November.

This was the fourth tender held this year by PPS, which provides a purchasing and stockpiling service for small and medium sized enterprises in Korea. Previous tenders were held in March, June and July.