(Reuters) - Citi Research raised its average tin price forecast for the first quarter of 2025 to $32,000 per metric ton from $29,000 on Friday but noted that prices will start easing from the second quarter.
The bank raised its price view amid physical market resilience ahead of tariff implementation and before there is more certainty on a supply recovery, it said in a note. This could help prices hold around $32,000 per metric ton through March, it added.
However, Citi said it expects tin prices to ease through April and kept its bearish 0-3 month price target of $27,000 unchanged due to U.S. tariff headwinds, higher Indonesian shipments, and a possible restart to tin mining in Myanmar.
Three-month tin on the London Metal Exchange (LME) fell over 1% at $31,300 per ton, as of 0730 GMT, a two-week low. [MET/L]
U.S. President Donald Trump said on Thursday his proposed 25% tariffs on Mexican and Canadian goods will take effect on Tuesday, along with an extra 10% duty on Chinese imports.
Elsewhere, Myanmar's Wa State is considering allowing mining to resume in the tin-rich region, Wa spokesperson Nyi Rang told Reuters. Mines in Wa produce 70% of the tin from Myanmar, the world's third-largest producer of the metal and a dominant supplier to China.
Tin mine supply should somewhat recover in 2025, especially from Indonesia and Myanmar, Citi added.
(Reporting by Anjana Anil, Ashitha Shivaprasad, and Anushree Mukherjee in Bengaluru; Editing by Himani Sarkar and Rashmi Aich)