FX.co ★ Nickel Extends Decline Amid Ample Supply

Nickel hovered near $16,200 per tonne, extending its decline as abundant supply continued to pressure prices. Increased ore shipments from the Philippines have helped offset tighter domestic ore availability in Indonesia, partially diluting the impact of Indonesia’s reduced nickel ore quota for 2026. At the same time, LME on-warrant inventories climbed to 278,898 tonnes as of September 24, up from a low of 264,444 tonnes in August, underscoring the current surplus in the market. Nonetheless, Indonesia’s 2026 ore quota remains below the approximately 315 million tonnes required to run its existing processing capacity at full utilization. In addition, production cuts at the Morowali Industrial Park due to water shortages are expected to curtail about 100,000 tonnes of nickel pig iron output, which could lend some support to prices by tightening supply.