According to foreign news on October 30, the World Bank pointed out in its latest "Commodity Market Outlook" report that due to slowing battery demand in China and rapid growth in nickel supply - mainly from Indonesia (accounting for more than 50% of global supply), nickel prices fell 9% in the third quarter of 2023 from the previous quarter.
The main reason for the weakness is a growing surplus of secondary nickel, which accounts for about two-thirds of the global nickel market and is mainly used in stainless steel, as new capacity comes on stream in China and Indonesia. At the same time, technological developments are slowing the growth of nickel use in China as companies switch to lithium iron phosphate (LFP) batteries that do not require primary nickel.
As production in Indonesia and the Philippines - the world's two largest producers - continues to grow, nickel prices are expected to fall 14 per cent in 2023 and another 10 per cent in 2024.
Growth in demand for electric vehicle batteries is expected to support a price rebound in 2025 and will be the main driver of future demand.
