Malaysian tin was down for a second straight day as players took more profits from a rally in the week after a fresh dip in the London price. But the metal remained above $7,000 a tonne, in line with bullish market forecasts envisioning short supply and strong demand.
"We had to correct the price because we're still following the LME," said a trader in Malaysia, referring to the London Metal Exchange.
"But fundamentally, this market is well supported at above $7,000." On Friday, spot tin on the Kuala Lumpur Tin Market (KLTM) fell $110 to $7,190 a tonne, on a volume of 80 tonnes.
It had slid $30 on Thursday, after surging $430 in three previous sessions. Tin futures on the LME were down on Thursday, with the third-month falling $100 to $7,200 a tonne.
The London market often lends direction to the price in Kuala Lumpur. On Friday's KLTM, initial bids from Japanese and local buyers stood at 47 tonnes, against the 150 tonnes offered by sellers.
Final volume was 80 tonnes, with the Japanese taking 60 tonnes. The $10 difference between the drop on the KLTM and the LME narrowed accordingly the premium for shipping a tonne of Malaysian tin to Europe.
The shipping premium, which takes into account freight, insurance and other costs, fell to $210 a tonne from $220 on Thursday.