Indonesia’s nickel ore export ban bolsters export prices for Chinese stainless steel

摘要

Export prices for Chinese stainless steel rose over the past week after Indonesia said it would bring forward a ban on nickel ore exports to the end of this year. Indonesia’s plan to expedite the ban, which was initially scheduled for 2022, will only be finalized once re-elected president Joko Widodo is sworn into office for a second term in October. The price of nickel on the London Metal Exchange surged to its highest since September 2014 after the plan was announced, which prompted stainless steel producers to raise their asking prices, market sources said.