Malaysian tin down almost 2 percent as LME weighs

Malaysian tin prices fell for a fourth straight day on Thursday, losing almost 2 percent as weak London prices forced more sellers onto the market.
The Kuala Lumpur Tin Market (KLTM) spot contract closed down $120 to $6,130 a tonne. The volume transacted rose to 139 tonnes, from Wednesday's 102 tonnes.
Since on Friday's close of $6,415 a tonne, the market has lost $285 or 4.4 percent off the spot price. Three-month tin on the London Metal Exchange, which often provides price direction to Malaysian tin, dived $75 to $6,125 a tonne on Wednesday.
"But we took a sharper hit here because many sellers came out after seeing the LME tin price," said a KLTM trader. Dealers put out 197 tonnes on the KLTM at Thursday's open, against the 20 tonnes initially bid by Japanese, European and Malaysian parties.
Buyers eventually raised their requirement t to 139 tonnes, with Japanese taking 95 tonnes, the Europeans 30 tonnes and locals 14 tonnes.
The $45 difference between the falls in Kuala Lumpur and London narrowed the premium for shipping a tonne of Malaysian tin to Europe to $210 a tonne from Wednesday's rate of $255.