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Nickel jumped to its highest price in more than five weeks on Thursday after top producer Indonesia said it would clamp down on a major ore trader, while copper sank to a three-month low as tech stocks came under renewed pressure.
Benchmark three-month nickel CMNI3 on the London Metal Exchange was up 3.8% to $16,375a metric ton as of 1700 GMT. The metal used to make stainless steel and rechargeable batteries hit a session high of $16,415, its strongest since September 25.
Indonesia’s forestry task force said it would take action against companies owned by or affiliated with businessman Arif Kurniawan for operating illegally in forest areas after identifying possible irregularities in mining governance, licensing and permitting processes.
Local media reports said Kurniawan was a former Glencore trader who controlled a large share of Indonesia’s nickel ore trade, prompting concerns over shortages.
Indonesian nickel producers have faced rising costs and tighter mining quotas in 2026.
“For the year as a whole, we are expecting a fall of 6% or so in total exports of nickel and products, more than we had predicted at the start of the year,” Macquarie analysts said in a note on Indonesia, adding that the market was now focusing on ore quotas for 2027.
Copper CMCU3, meanwhile, fell 1.3% to $13,828.50 a ton as the metal tracked steep losses in US equities tied to chips and data centres. It earlier touched $13,768.50, its weakest since July 31.
Investors are weighing the prospect of greater scrutiny over the artificial intelligence buildout following Democrats’ victory in the US midterm elections on Tuesday.
The AI narrative has been bullish for copper and tin CMSN3, which was down 1.9% to $46,100 a ton after hitting its lowest since April 2.
In China, the Yangshan premium SMM-CUYP-CN, a gauge of the country’s appetite for imported copper, rose to $210 a ton, matching a record high set in 2013 as inventories outside the US remain scarce.
Aluminium CMAL3 rose 1% to $3,078.50 a ton, while zinc CMZN3 shed 0.3% to $3,793 and lead CMPB3 added 0.6% to $1,893.
(Reporting by Tom Daly; additional reporting by Solomon Cefai, Bernadette Christina and Polina Devitt; Editing by Joyjeet Das, Louise Heavens and Paul Simao)
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