Malaysian tin fell 0.5 percent on Monday, tracking a drop in prices in London, amid scattered buying by foreigners, dealers said. Spot tin on the Kuala Lumpur Tin Exchange ended down $40 at $7,810, after having lost $30 in the previous session.
Volume stood at 52 tonnes, up from 35 tonnes at last on Friday's session. Three-month tin on the London Metal Exchange (LME), which usually governs the price direction in Kuala Lumpur, closed down $70 at $7,830 per tonne on Friday.
"At the price there were offers of 52 tonnes against bids of 22 tonnes," a dealer said.
"However, when the market went down, buyers increased their bids." Japanese buyers had taken 25 tonnes, European dealers bought 20 tonnes and Malaysians took seven tonnes. The premium for shipping a tonne of Malaysian tin to Europe calculated on a cost, insurance and freight basis rose to $185 from $155 on Friday.