Timah stops selling tin in spot market

IDX-listed tin giant PT Timah Tbk will stop selling the commodity in the spot market amid the current price drop. The company will resume selling tin when the price of the commodity recovers to US$20,000 per ton, Kontan reported on Monday.

The paper said that tin price for three-month delivery on the London Metal Exchange late last week stood at $18,275 per ton.

The company, however, will continue to carry out mining activities to fulfill its export contracts. ?Tin price is now far below expectation. But we?ll continue to fulfill contracted sales volume. We?ll not, however, make new sales,? said Timah Corporate Secretary Agung Nugroho.

Some analysts said that the move by Timah may provide support for the sagging price of the commodity. However, it would affect the company?s targeted sales volume and revenue as contracted sales volume only account for 45 percent of total sales target.

Agung, however, said Timah opposes suggestion for a full suspension of tin export.

Timah earlier said it has allocated capital expenditure of Rp 1. 1 trillion for this year, and set production target of 25,000-30,000 tons. (*)