Tin fell 1.6 percent in Malaysian trade on Monday after tracking fresh falls in the London price of the metal. But the spot price in Kuala Lumpur did not drop as much as tin futures in London, meeting resistance at $6,300 a tonne. At Monday's close, the Kuala Lumpur Tin Market's spot contract stood at $6,310 a tonne, down $105 from Friday.

Volume was the same as in the previous session, at 20 tonnes. Over at the London Metal Exchange, three-month tin fell $145, or 2.3 percent, to $6,255 a tonne on Friday.

The London market often lends price direction to Malaysian tin. But Kuala Lumpur sellers were not forthcoming at such levels. "They withdrew when the price went down," said a dealer.

"I expect the market to remain at around $6,300 to $6,500 a tonne." Sellers initially offered 55 tonnes, against the 16 tonne bid by Japanese and Malaysian buyers.

They cut the offer to 20 tonnes as the price threatened to break below $6,300. The $40 difference between the falls in Kuala Lumpur and London widened accordingly the premium for shipping a tonne of Malaysian tin to Europe.

The premium, which takes into account freight, insurance and other costs, rose to $260 a tonne from Friday's rate of $220.

Copyright Reuters, 2005