Steel, Aluminum, Copper, Stainless, Rare Earth, Metal Prices, Forecasting | MetalMiner

quka/Adobe Stock

Tin prices strengthened on the non-ferrous metals market this week as a result of stockist purchases due to firm demand from alloy industries.

According to a report from the Business Standard, tin joined copper cable scrap, zinc and copper wire bar as having also moved up due to growing demand from their industrial bases.

Want a short- and medium-term buying outlook for aluminum, copper, tin, lead, zinc, nickel and several forms of steel? Subscribe to our monthly buying outlook reports!

This growth may only be temporary, as our own Irene Martinez Canorea wrote just last month that the outlook remains bearish for the tin metal market.

She wrote that, similar to its sister metals, tin prices declined starting from the beginning of June. A market analysis of tin prices and trading activity indicates a more bearish outcome for the metal.

Canorea wrote: “According to the International Tin Research Institute (ITRI), the fluctuation of tin stocks has varied based upon tin prices in the market. Indonesian exports remain robust, with an increase of 10% in May compared to April. However, Myanmar tin exports decreased slightly again in May. This reduction of Myanmar output is expected to continue until the end of this year, as analyzed in detail in our monthly forecast reports.”

China Influencing Tin Prices

Canorea also noted that tin prices may also be impacted by the approval of a new Chinese policy that will directly affect the largest tin-producing company in China.

She added: “This policy consists of the removal of the valued-added tax (VAT) structure, which taxes imports of tin concentrates and was supposed to provide a tax rebate of 17% on exports. The catch? Exporters were never able to collect the rebate, so they ended up buying tin exclusively from domestic sources.”

How will tin and base metals fare in 2017? You can find a more in-depth tin price forecast and outlook in our brand-new Monthly Metal Buying Outlook report.

For a short- and long-term buying strategy with specific price thresholds:

ronniechua/Adobe Stock

It didn’t take long for President Donald Trump to extricate the U.S. from one trade deal, the Trans-Pacific Partnership. Now, the Trump administration is looking to make good on a promise to revamp the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA), the 23-year-old trilateral trade agreement with Canada and Mexico.

Participate in MetalMiner’s Budgeting Workshop on July 26 to help set your 2018 metals budget

On Wedesday, U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer announced the first round of negotiation talks will be held Aug. 16-20 in Washington, D.C.

A 90-day consultation period with Congress and the public kicked off May 18. Late last month, the Office of the USTR held public hearings over three days regarding NAFTA, welcoming comments from lawmakers, businesses and other stakeholders. Some U.S. industry sectors agreed NAFTA has been largely successful, but that the agreement forged in 1994 needs modernizing tweaks.

Lighthizer also announced John Melle, the assistant U.S. trade representative for the Western Hemisphere, will serve as the chief negotiator during the NAFTA talks. Melle has worked for the Office of the USTR since 1988.

The USTR also released its trade objectives for the negotiations on Monday. Perhaps not surprisingly, the primary goal for the Trump administration is a reduction of trade deficits with Mexico and Canada.

“President Trump continues to fulfill his promise to renegotiate NAFTA to get a much better deal for all Americans,” Lighthizer said in the prepared statement released Monday. “Too many Americans have been hurt by closed factories, exported jobs, and broken political promises. Under President Trump’s leadership, USTR will negotiate a fair deal. We will seek to address America’s persistent trade imbalances, break down trade barriers, and give Americans new opportunities to grow their exports. President Trump is reclaiming American prosperity and making our country great again.”

In 2016, the U.S. had a $64 billion trade deficit with Mexico and an $11 billion deficit with Canada. In 1994, when NAFTA went into effect, the U.S. had a $1.3 billion trade surplus with Mexico.

Free Download: The July 2017 MMI Report

According to a recently released study from the Boston Consulting Group (BCG), a border tax or the U.S. exiting the agreement could negatively impact U.S. automotive manufacturers. The study argues that a 15% border tax would cost U.S. automakers and suppliers $22 billion a year and a 20% tariff on Mexican imports would drive up production costs per vehicle by $650 on average.

Whatever happens, though, Mexico and Canada clearly would like to get the ball rolling.

Reuters reported today that diplomats from the U.S.’s NAFTA partners are hoping to reach a deal quickly to put an end to uncertainty in the business community regarding the trade deal’s future.