METALS-Nickel gains after Indonesia cuts quota for world's biggest nickel mine

Feb 12 (Reuters) - Nickel climbed on Thursday, after Indonesia sharply cut this year's mining quota for PT Weda Bay Nickel, the world's biggest mine for the critical mineral located in the country.

The most-active nickel contract on the Shanghai Futures Exchange SNIcv1 climbed 1.79% to close daytime trading at 139,610 yuan ($20,228.06) a metric ton, after surging as much as 3.14% earlier.

The benchmark three-month nickel on the London Metal Exchange CMNI3 rose 0.34% to $17,940 a ton as of 0740 GMT, after rising 2.23% on Wednesday.

On Wednesday, French miner Eramet ERMT.PA said the Indonesian mine had received an initial mining quota of 12 million wet metric tons for 2026, down from 32 million wet metric tons for 2025. It said it would seek an upward revision soon.

The mine is a joint venture between the French company, Chinese nickel and stainless steel major Tsingshan and Indonesia's state-backed PT Antam.

The cut came after local media reported that Indonesia has so far approved nickel mining quotas of around 260 million to 270 million tons for 2026.

Both moves boosted market sentiment, said Natalie Scott-Gray, StoneX's senior metals analyst, in a note.

"And prices are expected to remain supported in the short term," said Scott-Gray. "However, it is worth remembering that Indonesia has historically sought to prevent prices rising sustainably above $18,000/t, as elevated prices risk undermining domestic EV sector competitiveness."

Meanwhile, copper also advanced on Thursday, as a weak U.S. dollar provided support for greenback-denominated commodities by making them more affordable for investors using other currencies.

The SHFE most-traded copper SCFcv1 was up 0.39% to close at 102,330 yuan a ton, and the benchmark three-month copper CMCU3 also climbed, adding 0.58% to $13,242.50 a ton.

Among other SHFE base metals, aluminium SAFcv1 nudged 0.15% higher, zinc SZNcv1 climbed 0.67%, tin SSNcv1 rose 0.88%, and lead SPBcv1 dipped 0.15%.

Elsewhere on the LME, aluminium CMAL3 added 0.89%, zinc CMZN3 rose 0.41%, tin CMSN3 was up 0.36% and lead CMPB3 dipped 0.30%.

($1 = 6.9018 Chinese yuan renminbi)