Malaysian tin rebounded on Friday, helped by foreign buying and a higher price of the metal in London. Spot tin on the Kuala Lumpur Tin Market ended up $59, or 0.8 percent, at $7,924 a tonne. On Thursday, it fell 1 percent, tracking a drop in the London price. Tin on the London Metal Exchange (LME), which often dictates the trend in Kuala Lumpur, rose $120 to $7,970 a tonne on Thursday.

Traders said resurgence in demand for Malaysian tin could push the local price back to January's close of $8,000 a tonne. "We expect the market to touch $8,000 next week as demand is picking up and LME stocks are falling," said a trader.

Dealers noted initial bids for 155 tonnes from Japanese, European and local buyers, against offers for 95 tonnes. Final volume was 100 tonnes, just up from Thursday's 99 tonnes. The smaller rise in the Malaysian price versus London narrowed the premium for shipping a tonne of Malaysian tin to Europe by $65 to $170.

The premium, calculated using freight, insurance and other financial costs stood at $235 on Thursday.

Copyright Reuters, 2005