Tin output won't keep pace with demand

New York

SMART phones, cars and a prolonged mining slump are creating tighter supplies of tin, a metal used mostly as solder for electrical circuits.

Demand for tin remains strong from all sorts of manufacturers, from makers of food cans and building materials to iPads and Oscar statuettes. At the same time, big exporters like Indonesia and Myanmar are shipping less, following a three-year slump that discouraged investment in mines and smelters. Supplies in 2016 will be the smallest relative to demand in almost two decades, industry forecasts show. Tin on the London Metal Exchange has surged into a bull market, after prices in January were at their lowest since 2009.