Nickel stocks rose in morning trading. At the time of writing, LYGEND RESOURCE (02245) surged over 11.22% to HK$25.78; CNGR (02579) climbed 9.14% to HK$39.16; Xinjiang Xinxin Mining Industry (03833) gained over 4.63%, trading at HK$2.94. The movement is driven by renewed disruptions in Indonesian nickel mining quotas. In the previous trading session, LME nickel closed at $18,785, up 6.7%, while the main SHFE nickel contract settled at 148,930 yuan, rising 5.6%. According to local media reports citing mining officials, Indonesia may approve a nickel ore production quota of approximately 260 million metric tons in 2026. CITIC Futures analysis suggests that, considering 2026 will still be a period of concentrated capacity release for new Indonesian High-Pressure Acid Leach (HPAL) projects, the theoretical domestic nickel ore demand in Indonesia for 2026 is expected to be about 15% higher than the currently proposed target of 260 million wet metric tons to maintain reasonable operational rates for existing and under-construction projects. If this quota figure is implemented directly, it would create a significantly tight supply expectation for the market.
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