Commodities

Indonesia Says Its Nickel Supply Will Keep Global Prices Low

  • Battery metal to stay below $18,000 a ton, key official says
  • Sharp drop in prices has hit producers across the world

A nickel mine in Sulawesi, Indonesia.

Photographer: Dimas Ardian/Bloomberg
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Indonesia, the world’s largest nickel exporter, has a sobering message for struggling producers of the battery metal elsewhere: don’t expect any meaningful revival in prices.

Septian Hario Seto, the government official who has overseen Indonesia’s nickel processing boom, says prices are unlikely to rise much above $18,000 a ton on the London Metal Exchange. The Southeast Asian nation will ensure the market remains well supplied to keep costs lower for electric vehicle manufacturers, he said.