Indonesian tin smelters function below capacity on high fuel prices

摘要

Indonesian tin smelters have been operating below capacity as rising fuel prices have inflated costs by pushing up raw material prices, industry officials said on Tuesday. With main producer China becoming a net importer in 2008 to meet local demand for tin, Indonesia is now Asia's largest exporter of the metal -used in electrical solders and as a corrosion-resistant coating for other metal. Tin prices hit an all-time high of 25,500 dollars a tonne on the London Metal Exchange in mid-May, powered by speculative buying on supply worries from main producers China and Indonesia as well as low inventories.