Nickel ore shipments leaving Surigao to sharply expand in Apr

The Indonesian Bureau of Meteorology, Climatology, and Geophysics (BMKG) has issued an emergency alert for extreme weather across Southeast Sulawesi from May 11 to 13, 2026, predicting moderate to heavy rainfall accompanied by lightning and strong winds across key regions including Kendari, Konawe, and Kolaka. Driven by warm sea surface temperatures and active Madden-Julian Oscillation (MJO) waves, this atmospheric instability has significantly boosted rain cloud formation, prompting official warnings for potential hydrometeorological disasters such as flooding, landslides, and disruptions to maritime shipping activities in these critical mining hubs. SMM anticipates that the prevailing extreme weather conditions might hinder nickel mining operations throughout the current week.

[SMM Nickel Flash] May 12 — On the supply side, supported by costs, the willingness to hold prices firm remained strong, though some enterprises slightly loosened their stance due to shipments pressure. Downstream steel mills maintained a cautious purchasing attitude, restocking primarily based on rigid demand, with notable resistance to high-priced sources, and end-user fear-of-heights sentiment showed no signs of easing. Overall market transactions were sluggish, and the price center declined.

[SMM Nickel Flash] On May 12, the SMM high-grade NPI market sentiment index was 2.84, down 0.13 MoM, the high-grade NPI upstream sentiment index was 3.36, down 0.16 MoM, and the high-grade NPI downstream sentiment index was 2.33, down 0.09 MoM. The market fluctuated at highs, with intensifying competition between sellers and buyers.