[SMM Nickel Midday Review] On August 20, SHFE nickel regained the level of 130,000 yuan/mt, and the US Treasury Department announced the expansion of the scale of long-term nominal U.S. Treasury bond repurchases.

On August 20, the SMM average price for battery-grade nickel sulphate remained stable.

Indonesia’s Ministry of Energy and Mineral Resources (ESDM) has begun approving revised 2026 RKAB applications for nickel and coal, with approvals reportedly reaching dozens of companies. ESDM Director General of Mineral and Coal Tri Winarno said some nickel mining companies that had previously halted operations due to RKAB issues have now been allowed to resume production. The approved additional nickel ore quota has not yet been disclosed, leaving the actual impact on Indonesia’s nickel ore supply unclear. ESDM previously indicated that the RKAB revision would be implemented selectively, mainly to address ore shortages at smelters, rather than represent a broad increase in mining quotas.

Indonesian nickel ore CIF average prices increased across all three grades, with the strongest gain recorded for 1.6% Ni ore. • 1.4% Ni: CIF average price stayed the same $53.3/wmt. • 1.5% Ni: CIF average price stayed the same $60.8/wmt, • 1.6% Ni: CIF average price stayed the same $65.8/wmt, • Premium: Market players verified that the premium remained stable compared with the first half of August, with no significant change in the prevailing premium level. =================================================================== Indonesia Latest Policy Update — August 19, 2026 Indonesia’s planned Mineral and Strategic Commodities Exchange remains the main recent policy development relevant to nickel. The government said the exchange is expected to cover nickel, coal and palm oil, with operations targeted for January 1, 2027, aiming to establish domestic reference prices for strategic commodities. • Nickel impact: The exchange could strengthen Indonesia’s influence over nickel price formation and domestic benchmarks, potentially giving Indonesian prices a greater role in the international market. • Latest development: State Secretary Minister Prasetyo Hadi said on August 17 that preparations are underway for the exchange, tentatively referred to as Icomex. Morowali, Central Sulawesi: August is generally a relatively favorable period, and the current forecast indicates minimal rainfall, so mining, hauling and port operations should remain largely normal. • Halmahera: Higher seasonal rainfall risk than Morowali. Halmahera has a humid climate even in August, with rainfall occurring on many days. However, the current weekly forecast indicates limited rainfall, so no major disruption is expected this week. • Therefore, for Indonesia, Halmahera is the region to watch for rain, rather than Morowali.