Nickel Surpasses Coal as Indonesia’s Top Export, Macquarie Says

Nickel has eclipsed coal as Indonesia’s biggest export earner for the first time, according to Macquarie Group Ltd., a sign of the country’s growing dominance in the supply of the battery metal.

Earnings from overseas sales of nickel products were $16.5 billion in the first half of the year, analysts including Jim Lennon wrote in a note dated Aug 12. That compares with $14.4 billion for coal, they said.