Nickel hovered around $17,000 per tonne, rebounding from a more than one-month low as expectations of tighter supply from Indonesia lent support to prices. The country’s nickel ore production quota for 2026 has been set at 260–270 million tonnes, significantly below the 379 million tonnes approved for 2025, signaling potential supply constraints.
However, the government has also indicated that it may selectively grant additional quotas to smelters facing raw-material shortages, raising the likelihood of increased ore availability and capping further price gains. At the same time, elevated inventories on both the LME and in China continued to pressure the market, underscoring ample supplies of refined nickel.
Indonesia is additionally preparing to launch a strategic minerals and commodities exchange in January 2027, potentially including nickel, as Jakarta seeks to exert greater influence over domestic commodity pricing.
