Column: Electric dreams turn into a nightmare for battery metals
A sector that was once racing to build new supply has been closing mines and deferring projects as low prices bite into the cost curve.
Tin prices in Shanghai fell to a seven-month low on Tuesday due to adequate supply and subdued demand, offsetting support from a weak US dollar.
The most-traded December tin contract on the Shanghai Futures Exchange lost 3.3% to 193,540 yuan ($27,062.85) per metric ton as of 0441 GMT, the lowest since April.
Prices were under supply pressure as domestic production remained steady, plus higher imports, analysts at Hongyuan Futures noted.
Myanmar’s Wa militia, a main producing region of tin ore, suspended its mining activities in August.
Local ore selection plants resumed operation in mid-September, leading to more supplies to China in recent months, they added.
China imported 25,299 tons of tin concentrate in October, up 248.3% from September and up 124.2% from last October, customs data showed.
Meanwhile, demand for the metal used in electronics remained tepid as end users focused on destocking at year-end, analysts said.
Weighing on prices further was a gloomy demand outlook as China recorded a slower-than-expected growth in industrial profits last month.
Regardless, the dollar edged lower on Tuesday to a three-month low after slipping overnight on weaker-than-expected new home sales data, making the greenback-priced commodity cheaper for buyers.
Three-month tin on the London Metal Exchange was up 1.4% at $23,295 per ton.
Elsewhere, LME copper held unchanged at $8,363 a ton, aluminum gained 0.2% to $2,214, lead rose 0.5% to $2,173.50, while nickel dipped 0.2% to $16,045, zinc declined 0.1% to $2,537.
SHFE copper slipped 0.3% to 68,020 yuan, aluminum shed 0.2% to 18,840 yuan a ton, lead slid 0.9% to 16,090 yuan, nickel fell 1.2% to 123,510 yuan, while zinc gained 0.1% to 21,165 yuan.
($1 = 7.1480 Chinese yuan)
(By Siyi Liu and Dominique Patton; Editing by Sherry Jacob-Phillips and Janane Venkatraman)
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