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Traders work on the floor of the London Metal Exchange in London, Britain, September 27, 2018. Both explicitly allow for the cancellation of trades "in exceptional cases", which would be a fair description of last year's nickel market meltdown and the resulting threat of multiple member defaults. This is a case of "knowing one when you see one" or "the elephant test" in legal precedent, the judges said. Nor would it have affected Chamberlain's assessment that nickel trading had become irrational and disorderly on the morning of March 8. LME trading has been transformed by the crisis in the form of permanent caps on time-spreads and limits on intraday price movements.

Persons: Simon Dawson, Elliott, Jonathan Swift, Robert Bright, Matthew Chamberlain, Jane Street, Chamberlain, China's, Xiang Guangda, Oliver Wyman, Tsingshan, Barbara Lewis Organizations: London Metal Exchange, REUTERS, London High, Elliott Associates, Jane, Global Trading, Financial, Authority, China's Tsingshan, Reuters, Thomson Locations: London, Britain, U.S

Now Widodo also needs a free trade agreement (FTA) with the United States for Indonesian materials to qualify for the generous EV subsidies available under the Biden administration's Inflation Reduction Act (IRA). What it got after last week's bilateral meeting was a commitment "to develop a critical minerals action plan (...) with a view toward establishing the foundation to launch future negotiations on a critical minerals agreement". The joint statement included some pointers as to what the United States expects from that action plan in terms of environmental, social and governance (ESG) standards. A limited trade agreement on critical minerals could become an even more restricted deal if it were to apply only to non-Chinese material streams. South Korea has the advantage of having had an FTA with the United States since 2012.

Persons: Joko Widodo, Tesla, Widodo, Washington, Biden, Joe Manchin, Janet Yellen, Manchin, Trafigura, Emelia Sithole Organizations: Vale Tbk, U.S, Biden, GREEN, Benchmark Minerals, Australia, Greenpeace, of, Group, Minerals, Korea, Reuters, Thomson Locations: Sorowako, Indonesia's, Asian, United States, Indonesia, United, GREEN Indonesia, Philippines, Ulsan, South Korea, Morocco, South

Singapore's Abaxx Commodities Exchange thinks a new nickel sulphate contract could be the answer. The sulphate market has been forecast by research house Roskill to grow at an annual rate of 22% over the current decade as the green mobility revolution accelerates. China's imports of nickel sulphateTRADE BOOMChina's surging imports of nickel sulphate are a reflection of the product's stunning growth as battery cathode input. China's nickel imports by product 2020-2023PRICING PROBLEMSNone of this new Indonesia-China nickel trade has a natural exchange pricing home. LME nickel trading volumes have stabilised but are still running significantly below levels seen prior to the March 2022 trading halt.

Persons: Antara, It's, Roskill, Mike Harrison Organizations: PT Vale Indonesia, REUTERS Acquire, London Metal Exchange, Abaxx Commodities, Canadian, Technologies, Shanghai Futures Exchange, EV, Imports, China's, Class, Global Commodity Holdings, Reuters, Thomson Locations: Sorowako, South Sulawesi, Indonesia, China, Finland, South Africa, South Korea

Indonesia imported 53,864 metric tons of nickel ore in the first half of 2023, up from 22,503 tons for all of 2022, Indonesian trade data showed. But imports from the Philippines only started in May, and all arrived at Morowali port in a huge nickel processing park run partly by Chinese nickel giant Tsingshan Group, the Indonesian data showed. "But the ore is cheaper by comparison with domestic ore currently and so this will offset some of the rising costs," Mitchell said. The Philippines mined 360,000 tons of nickel in ore in 2022, or 11% of global supplies, according to INSG. Philippines 1.3% grade ore landed at China's Lianyun port surged 20.6% in the past month to $41 a ton, the highest since March, Mysteel data showed.

Persons: Antara, Aneka, Tsingshan, Wood Mackenzie, Andrew Mitchell, Mitchell, Mai Nguyen, Siyi Liu, Fransiska, Enrico dela Cruz, Dominique Patton, Kim Coghill Organizations: PT Vale Indonesia, REUTERS Acquire, Nickel, Tsingshan Group, Study, Imports, Thomson Locations: Sorowako, South Sulawesi, Indonesia, Philippines, Jakarta, Morowali, China, China's, Hanoi, Beijing, Manila

LONDON, March 21 (Reuters) - The London Metal Exchange (LME) has discovered that some of its registered nickel is missing. Bags of stones shouldn't pass any inspection, whether at original load-in or during the annual audit of registered stock required by the LME's warehousing agreement. But it folds into the bigger issues around the exchange's governance and regulatory capacity after the blow-out of the nickel contract this time last year. BROKEN NICKELThe latest scandal will also intensify the question of whether the LME nickel contract is fulfilling the function of efficient price discovery forum. The nickel market was already looking for different pricing solutions before the March 8, 2022 suspension of LME nickel trading.

LONDON, Feb 24 (Reuters) - The global nickel market flipped from deficit to surplus over the course of 2022, according to the International Nickel Study Group (INSG). Indonesia's mined nickel production expanded by 48% to 1.58 million tonnes in 2022, according to the INSG. However, as Indonesian production of Class II nickel rises, the Class I market shrinks. Around 70% of the physical nickel supply chain is now priced at a discount to the LME benchmark. LME nickel volumes slumped by 28% last year and January's activity was 60% lower than that of January 2022.

☆ Indonesia says BASF, Eramet near $2.6 bln deal to process nickel for EV batteries
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-19 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

[1/2] A logo is seen on the facade of the BASF plant and former Ciba production site in Schweizerhalle near Basel July 7, 2009. Indonesia's investment ministry cited BASF chief executive Martin Brudermüller as saying the project investment would be worth around 2.4 billion euros ($2.59 billion). Eramet spokeswoman Fanny Mounier said the project was subject to a final investment decision and further details would be disclosed if a decision was made. The planned plant would produce mixed hydroxide precipitate (MHP) from nickel through a high-pressure acid leach (HPAL) plant. Investment into MHP production in Indonesia has so far been dominated by Chinese companies such as Zhejiang Huayou Cobalt and Tsingshan Holding Group.

☆ BASF, Eramet near $2.6 bln Indonesia deal to process nickel for EV batteries
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-18 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

JAKARTA, Jan 18 (Reuters) - Germany's BASF (BASFn.DE) and French miner Eramet (ERMT.PA) are finalising a $2.6 billion partnership deal to invest in a facility in Indonesia to process nickel for use in batteries for electric vehicles, Indonesian officials said. The project investment would be worth around 2.4 billion euros ($2.59 billion), the investment ministry said, citing BASF chief executive Martin Brudermüller. BASF and Eramet's investment plan was in line with the government's "aspirations to set up Indonesia as world-class EV player," said Investment Minister Bahlil Lahadalia. Indonesia is also finalising agreements with Chinese automaker BYD Group and Tesla (TSLA.O) to invest in EV production facilities, a senior cabinet minister said on Tuesday. Investment into MHP production in Indonesia has so far been dominated by Chinese companies such as Zhejiang Huayou Cobalt and Tsingshan Holding Group.

LONDON, Jan 6 (Reuters) - March 2022 will go down in the history books as the moment the global nickel market broke down. The search is on for a new nickel price discovery process. Global Commodities Holdings (GCH) thinks it has a solution, a blast from the LME's own distant past that could have far-reaching consequences for industrial metals trading. This is self-evidently true of the LME nickel contract, which simply could not absorb the scale of short positions accumulated by China's Tsingshan Group. It may not just be nickel players keeping a close eye on GCH's proposed new metals pricing solution.

LONDON, Nov 17 (Reuters) - London Metal Exchange (LME) nickel trading has turned wild again this week. LME and ShFE nickel contracts price and volumeVOLATILITY TRAPThe fund exodus after March has left a liquidity vacuum and a self-reinforcing volatility trap in the nickel market. ("A financially constrained physical market", April 3, 2022)LME nickel trading volumes have fallen steeply since March. Year-to-date nickel volumes are 24% below last year's equivalent period, the scale of decline flattered by strong trading activity in January and February. But until inventory and volumes rebuild, time-spread turbulence and perma-backwardation are becoming the new normal in the Shanghai market.

LONDON, Oct 21 (Reuters) - It's not the first time the 145-year-old London Metal Exchange (LME) has found itself in crisis. Register now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.com RegisterMarch brought Nickel Crisis II, a much scarier update of the original, and now we have the unfolding Russian Metal Crisis. It's perilous legal territory and would have a significant impact on LME price and physical premiums. Meanwhile, CME's (CME.O) cobalt contract has steadily built up liquidity since its end-2020 launch even as activity in the LME's contract has steadily dwindled. Disgruntled funds have already voted with their feet, the collective departure causing LME trading volumes to slide by 6% over the first nine months of this year.

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