Nickel prices rose to their highest level in more than five weeks on Thursday after Indonesia, the top producer of the metal, said it would crack down on a major ore trader. Copper, by contrast, fell to a three-month low as technology stocks came under renewed pressure. According to Reuters, benchmark three-month nickel on the London Metal Exchange (LME) was up 3.8% at US$16,375 a tonne as of 17:00 GMT.
The metal, used in the production of stainless steel and rechargeable batteries, touched a session high of US$16,415, its strongest level since 25 September. Indonesia's forestry task force said it would take action against companies owned by or affiliated with businessman Arif Kurniawan, which it accused of operating illegally in forest areas. The task force cited possible irregularities in mining governance, licensing and permitting processes.
Local media reports, cited by Reuters, said Kurniawan was a former Glencore trader who controlled a large share of Indonesia's nickel ore trade, prompting concerns over possible shortages. Indonesian nickel producers have faced rising costs and tighter mining quotas in 2026. Macquarie analysts, in a note on Indonesia quoted by Reuters, said they expected total exports of nickel and nickel products to fall by about 6% for the year as a whole, more than they had predicted at the start of the year.
The analysts added that the market was now focusing on ore quotas for 2027. Copper fell 1.3% to US$13,828.50 a tonne, after touching US$13,768.50, its weakest level since 31 July. Reuters reported that the metal tracked steep losses in US equities linked to chips and data centres.
Investors are weighing the prospect of greater scrutiny of the artificial intelligence buildout following the Democrats' victory in the US midterm elections. Reuters noted that the AI narrative has been bullish for copper and tin, with tin down 1.9% at US$46,100 a tonne after hitting its lowest level since 2 April. In China, the Yangshan premium, a gauge of the country's appetite for imported copper, rose to US$210 a tonne.
This matched a record high set in 2013, as inventories outside the United States remain scarce. Elsewhere in base metals, aluminium rose 1% to US$3,078.50 a tonne, zinc fell 0.3% to US$3,793 and lead gained 0.6% to US$1,893. Source: Reuters, published via Mining.com.au (https://mining.com.au/nickel-price-leaps-to-5-week-high-copper-price-hits-3-month-low).
Reporting by Tom Daly, with additional reporting by Solomon Cefai, Bernadette Christina and Polina Devitt.
Source: mining.com.au