【SMM Nickel Market Flash】Critical Minerals Stuck Between Demand Hopes and Oversupply Reality, Analyst Says

Published: Sep 29, 2025 14:59

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【SMM Nickel Market Flash】A Reuters analysis highlights a major disconnect in the critical minerals market: while long-term demand for the energy transition is expected to soar, the current reality is one of oversupply and weak prices. For battery metals like nickel, massive investment in new capacity, particularly from Indonesia's policy-driven expansion, has led to a significant market surplus, with London nickel prices currently at a third of their 2022 peak. While demand for key energy transition minerals is forecast to quadruple by 2035, markets are currently balanced or oversupplied, forcing producers to endure a period of low prices while waiting for the demand surge to materialize.

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