Morning Bites

⛏ Indonesia has sharply cut benchmark prices for its low-grade nickel ore, Bloomberg reports. On 11 September, the local Energy Ministry lowered the "corrective factor" used in its ore-pricing formula to 14% (vs. 26% earlier). Hence, the cost of 1.2% nickel ore will be almost halved effectively

Although the measure contradicts Indonesia's (63% of global Ni supply) previous efforts to monetise its dominant market position, it is likely to ease cost pressure on local HPAL producers (~30% of Indonesia’s nickel output), materially affected by a surge in sulphur prices amid the Middle East conflict

Overall, the measure lowers the risk of near-term HPAL disruptions, which would add some stress to nickel prices (at least in the short term), as the global Ni market remains in significant surplus (~8% of demand in 2025)

#nickel