After Production Cuts, ESDM: Nickel Prices Have Stabilised at US$17,000 Per Tonne

Director General of Mineral and Coal (Dirjen Minerba) at the Ministry of ESDM, Tri Winarno, stated that nickel prices have begun to stabilise at US$17,000 per tonne after Indonesia implemented a policy to cut nickel production quotas. “Prices once reached US$18,600 per tonne, then stabilised at around US$17,000. Now it’s about US$17,200–US$17,400 per tonne,” said Tri at an event titled “Unlocking Growth in The Middle Income Trap” in Jakarta on Tuesday, 7 April 2026. Before the Indonesian government applied the nickel production quota reduction policy, the price of that mining commodity was in the range of US$14,000–US$15,000 per tonne. According to Tri, the cause of the low nickel price at that time was an excess supply of nickel, or oversupply, in the global market of around 200–250 thousand tonnes. “That is the cause (of the price) of nickel in the world not experiencing an increase, stagnating at US$14,000–US$15,000 per tonne,” said Tri. Since Indonesia announced it would control nickel production on 23 December 2025, Tri stated that nickel prices in the global market immediately increased. He hopes that the production control carried out by the Ministry of ESDM can prevent nickel oversupply, so that the price of that mining commodity can improve. “65 percent of the world’s nickel supply comes from Indonesia. That’s why we are trying to make Indonesia a player that determines the price,” he said. Previously, when met at the Ministry of ESDM office in Jakarta on Monday, 6 April 2026, Tri stated that the current approved nickel production volume for 2026 by the government is in the range of 190–200 million tonnes. Meanwhile, the nickel production quota set by the Ministry of ESDM for 2026 has been reduced to 250–260 million tonnes, compared to the 2025 Work Plan and Budget (RKAB) of 379 million tonnes. The cut is based on the imbalance between supply and demand, or supply and demand, of coal and nickel in the international market, especially throughout 2025.