LONDON -- Tin prices are slipping--slightly--on the London Metal
Exchange after matching an 18-year high of $15,700 a ton in mid July.
Supplies of the metal, a key element in electronics solder and plating,
have been under pressure because of disruptions in Indonesia and
Bolivia.
Indonesia fin production is expected to fall roughly 30% this year,
according to the fin trade group ITRI, following a government crackdown
on illegal mining last fall. Indonesia is the world's
second-largest tin producer, after China.
Copper prices are also dipping as inventories rose to their highest
point in a month.
China, the world's largest user, imported 6.8% less copper in
June versus May. However, strikes in Montreal and Chile at two of the
world's four largest copper producers have slowed production and
refining operations.
Lead, which also set a record in early July, declined 3.1% as of
July 23.
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