Malaysian tin ended on Thursday unchanged despite a rise in the London price of the metal as traders offered more lots for sale ahead of a holiday-lengthened weekend, dealers said.
Spot tin on the Kuala Lumpur Tin Market (KLTM), which had risen 1.3 percent to $9,400 a tonne the previous day, saw turnover of 70 tonnes.
On the London Metal Exchange (LME), tin rose $25 to $9,475 per tonne on Wednesday, after rising $150 the previous day. At the open in Kuala Lumpur, buyers sought 75 tonnes, against offers of 70 tonnes.
By the end of the session, Japanese buyers had taken up 47 tonnes, European buyers had purchased 20 tonnes and Malaysians three tonnes. "Since the Kuala Lumpur market is closed tomorrow, we are seeing pre-holiday selling today," one dealer said.
"We expect the price to be around the $9,400 to $9,500 level next week." On Friday markets are closed due to local holiday in Malaysia.
The premium for shipping a tonne of Malaysian tin to Europe calculated on a cost, insurance and freight basis fell to $135 from $160, taking into account the difference between the prices in London and Kuala Lumpur, dealers said.