BEIJING: Nickel prices fell on Wednesday as traders eyed better supply from top producer Indonesia, while a steady US dollar and the lack of policy support from leading consumer China weighed on market sentiment.

Three-month nickel on the London Metal Exchange was down 1% at $17,585 per metric ton by 0406 GMT, while the most-traded May nickel contract on the Shanghai Futures Exchange dropped 2% to 134,680 yuan ($18,707.89) per ton.

Indonesia has approved requests for the mining production quota from more than 120 mineral companies and aims to complete the approval process this month, a senior official at the Energy and Mineral Resources Ministry said on Tuesday.

The comment lifted concerns over ore shortage due to a delay in the approval process this year, said a Chinese trader.

A downtrend in China’s prices of stainless steel, the main consuming sector for nickel, due to slow demand further weighed on sentiment.

Demand concerns of industrial metals emerged given little signs of a ramp-up for China’s construction sector, despite the nation entering its usual seasonal building peak period during March and April, analysts at ANZ noted.

Investors were also dissapointed by the lack of new measures from China’s parliament meeting on Tuesday, where it set 2024 growth target at 5%, as widely expected.

Nickel prices hit more than two-month high

The dollar index steadied on Wednesday ahead of congressional testimony from Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell.

A firmer dollar makes it more expensive to buy the greenback-priced commodity.

LME copper gained 0.1% to $8,501.50, aluminium eased 0.2% to $2,223.50 a ton, zinc edged up 0.2% at $2,460.50, tin was down 0.2% at $26,765, lead climbed 0.5% to $2,056.

SHFE copper shed 0.22% to 69,030 yuan a ton, tin lost 0.3% at 218,710 yuan, aluminium slid 0.2% to 19,010 yuan, zinc added 0.4% to 20,765 yuan, and lead gained 0.4% at 16,040 yuan.