METALS-Shanghai nickel rises after Indonesia lowers 2025 mining quota

Updates prices

By Violet Li and Mei Mei Chu

SHANGHAI, Jan 13 (Reuters) - Shanghai nickel prices advanced on Monday, helped by Indonesia lowering its nickel ore mining quota, while most base metals rose but were limited by a strong U.S. dollar following robust jobs data.

The dollar began the week strong after U.S. jobs growth unexpectedly accelerated in December and the unemployment rate declined, prompting traders to dial back bets for Federal Reserve rate cuts this year.

The dollar index =USD was trading at $109.85 on Monday, slightly lower than its two-year high hit on Jan. 2.

A stronger dollar makes greenback-priced commodities more expensive for holders of other currencies.

Three-month copper CMCU3 on the London Metal Exchange (LME) rose 0.4% to $9,126 per metric ton by 0715 GMT.

China's imports of unwrought copper and copper products hit a 13-month high in December, rising 17.8% year-on-year to 559,000 metric tons.

Meanwhile, the most traded nickel contract on the Shanghai Futures Exchange (SHFE) gained 1.9% to 127,700 yuan ($17,417.52) by the end of Asia morning trade, supported by Indonesia reducing its nickel ore quota.

Indonesia has set a quota of around 200 million tons for nickel ore mining in 2025, an official said, down from 270 million tons in 2024.

"This year's quota is expected to be insufficient to meet the demand from nickel smelters," Jinrui Futures said.

"However, the policy is not yet finalized, leaving room for potential changes. So far, the market reaction to this news has been limited."

The most-traded February copper contract on the SHFE SCFcv1 added 0.5% to 75,550 yuan a ton.

LME aluminium CMAl3 rose 0.2% to $2,577 a ton, nickel CMNI3 rose 0.1% to $15,675, zinc CMZN3 added 0.4% to $2,880, lead CMPB3 fell 0.3% to $1,969, while tin CMSN3 gained 0.9% to $30,140.

SHFE aluminium SAFcv1 rose 0.8% to 20,215 yuan a ton, zinc SZNcv1 gained 0.6% to 24,290 yuan, lead SPBcv1 added 0.7% to 16,570 yuan, while tin SSNcv1 advanced 0.2% to 251,980 yuan.

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($1 = 7.3317 Chinese yuan renminbi)

(Reporting by Violet Li and Mei Mei Chu; Editing by Sumana Nandy, Mrigank Dhaniwala and Sonia Cheema)

((Violet.Li@thomsonreuters.com;))

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