Nickel Surges to 7-Month High

2025-12-26 11:21 By Andre Joaquim 1 min. read

Nickel futures in the UK surged to $15,600 per tonne, the highest since May, after testing four-year lows at $14,350 on December 16th as markets reconsidered the view of an oversupplied market.

Indonesia, the world's top nickel producer, proposed a 34% reduction in nickel output in its 2026 budget to tackle growing concerns of oversupply and warnings from miners that ore grades are deteriorating.

It was the latest measure to curb oversupply of nickel since the over-expansion of the sector when Jakarta blocked the export of ores in 2020.

Despite the public efforts to limit output, prolonged surpluses drove benchmark futures to underperform other base metals, with Russia's Nornickel raised its surplus forecasts for next year to 275,000 tonnes.

Also, stockpiles at the LME rose by over 90,000 tonnes this year to 254,600 as of late December.

On the demand front, muted purchasing levels of stainless steel globally were offset by the higher usage of nickel in electric vehicles.



News Stream
Nickel Remains Near 6-Month Low Levels
Nickel traded around $16,350 per tonne, hovering near its lowest level since late December, as expectations of higher Indonesian supply continued to weigh on market sentiment. Investors remained focused on reports that Indonesia is considering raising its 2026 mining quota to around 360 million tonnes from roughly 260 million tonnes, reversing earlier production curbs that had lifted prices at the start of the year and reviving concerns over global oversupply. The bearish outlook was further reinforced by Nickel Industries' plans to ramp up production at its new Excelsior Nickel Cobalt HPAL plant while expanding downstream processing capacity through additional HPAL investments, supporting expectations of higher future nickel output. Meanwhile, elevated LME and SHFE nickel inventories continued to signal ample refined metal supply, limiting any sustained price recovery.
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Nickel Falls to 6-Month Low as Indonesia Signals More Supply
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Nickel Hits Over 2-Month Low
Nickel traded around $17,200 per tonne, falling to its lowest level in over two months, as investors extended profit-taking after a rally above $19,600 in early May. Sentiment weakened further as momentum-driven positioning unwound. Additional pressure came from soft demand conditions in China, where nickel salt transactions remained sluggish and stainless steel output showed limited improvement, while elevated exchange inventories reinforced oversupply concerns in the near term. However, supply-side uncertainty in Indonesia provided some offset, as tighter mining quotas, rising fiscal and regulatory scrutiny, and adjustments to benchmark pricing have raised questions over future output growth. Reports of Chinese-backed investors exploring alternative nickel projects outside Indonesia further highlighted potential shifts in investment flows and longer-term supply constraints.
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