Tin prices reach 22-year high on supply concerns

Gold prices were up early in the session on Monday, reaching as high as 668.20 per troy ounce. Prices dropped later in the day, however, and gold traded in the $663.25/$663.90 per troy ounce range. Meanwhile, palladium was trading at around $335 per troy ounce.

In base metals, tin went as high as $12,800 per tonne before easing back to $12,400 by late in the day in London. The prices were at their highest levels in more than two decades, driven up by supply concerns after an Indonesian miner stopped shipments amid an investigation in what was characterized as illegal mining. In addition, the president of Boliva nationalized a tin mine owned by a Swiss-based group that also operates zinc, silver, and lead mines in the South American nation. The price of tin was also affected by expectations that China is going to cut exports in order to satisfy domestic demand and to avoid higher export taxes.