Preliminary data released on 12 August by China’s National Bureau of Statistics showed very high production of 18,865 tonnes of refined tin in July, up 31% on the same month of 2008. Cumulative production in the year to date is now 5.4% higher than in the first seven months of 2008.
The July total is surprising given an ongoing shortage of concentrates and scrap available to smelters. It is possible that the figure may include the release of stocks by smaller private smelters, who report sales rather than output to the authorities. The number may also still be inflated by the re-refining of crude tin imported between April and July as a result of favourable price arbitrage that existed up to mid-May. ITRI expects to see significantly lower output figures from August.
