Nickel Market Stagnates as Supply and Demand Face Off-Season Challenges

The start-up of Indonesia's Excelsior Nickel Cobalt (ENC) HPAL project, which is expected to produce its first MHP in July and refined nickel in August, marks another major expansion of the country's downstream nickel industry. While the project strengthens Indonesia's position as the world's leading battery materials hub and attracts further foreign investment, the additional 72,000 tpa of Class-1 nickel capacity is likely to increase demand for domestic limonite ore in the long term while simultaneously adding to the global surplus of battery-grade nickel. In the near term, the new supply could exert further pressure on MHP and nickel prices, potentially reducing margins across the Indonesian nickel value chain and reinforcing market concerns over oversupply amid ongoing discussions on additional RKAB quotas.

[SMM Analysis] Indonesia's May Sulphur and Sulphuric Acid Import and Export Data

In May 2026, Indonesia's monthly total sulphur imports stood at 277,834.30 mt in physical content, up 3.9% MoM and down 55.80% YoY, with the main importing countries being China, Vietnam, the UK, India, Singapore, Spain, Turkmenistan, Turkey, Saudi Arabia and Japan; Indonesia's monthly total sulphur exports reached 24.08 mt in physical content, with the main export destinations being Germany, Hong Kong, China and the US; Indonesia's monthly total sulphuric acid imports amounted to 55,296.994 mt in physical content, down 68.1% MoM and up 236.6% YoY, mainly from China, India and South Korea; Indonesia's monthly total sulphuric acid exports were 0.