A poll at the LME Metals Seminar at the end of the Metals Debate placed tin as the metal with the second most upside potential for 2024 according to delegates.
At the LME Metals Seminar 2023 in October, the Metals Debate opened with a poll of delegates asking which base metal has the most upside potential for 2024, with tin placing fourth jointly with steel (10.2%) behind copper (41.8%), nickel (17.3%), and aluminium (12.2%).
The poll was repeated after short presentations from each industry and the debate, which featured the International Tin Association’s Dr Jeremy Pearce, with tin coming in second (at 22.8%) to copper (53.5%).
Pearce brought to focus the long-term case for tin as the “forgotten metal”, with 50% of tin in 2022 being used in solder, highlighting its criticality to energy transition technologies. He cited global tin supply disruptions coinciding with a demand trough, whilst early signs of demand recovery are beginning to emerge. Pearce asked the delegates to consider whether supply is “going to be able to keep up” and if it is “resilient enough”.
