The site of an old tin mine in Cornwall
Letter from the US: Oil’s tin problem
The history of tin production and prices offers a preview of the future oil market. If correct, $35/bl could become the new normal for crude for several years without further OPEC+ intervention
Tin producers were cosseted for decades through the International Tin Agreement (ITA) between them and consumers. The ITA was one of the commodity price stabilisation programmes that grew out of the 1944 Bretton Woods pact that established the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank. The agreement included the creation of the International Tin Council to oversee the stabilisation effort. Funds were provided to the council to build buffer stocks that could then be added to or sold off to keep prices stable. The ITA failed spectacularly in 1985 when the ITC did not meet margin calls to cover its positions on the London Metal Exchange as tin prices plummeted by 60%. The oil industr
Also in this section
11 March 2025
Direct air capture is still in its infancy, but organisations are seeking to leverage global collaborations and AI to discover new materials, with an aim of scaling up the technology and cutting costs
11 March 2025
Iran, Iraq, Venezuela, Nigeria and Kazakhstan all add significant volumes as core OPEC-9 feels the strain of compliance
11 March 2025
Investor certainty key to diversifying country’s oil and gas exports amid fresh talk of improving infrastructure to boost energy security
10 March 2025
Oil sands will be complemented by conventional and shale output growth and supply opportunities improved by the Trans Mountain Pipeline, but the tariff threat remains
