Nickel prices rise for a fourth consecutive day as market focuses on potential scale of Indonesian output cuts

Nickel prices rose for a fourth consecutive session as expectations of tighter supply increased on the possibility that Chinese producers may coordinate output cuts in Indonesia. Nickel on the London Metal Exchange climbed as much as 2%, approaching $16,000 a ton, extending a rally from last Thursday when it hit a nine-month low. Executives from several major Chinese nickel producers plan to meet this week to discuss cutting output from their Indonesian operations, including plants that make a key ingredient for batteries, according to reports. The companies tried and failed to agree on production cuts in August. "What everyone is really focused on right now is the scale of the cuts," said Gao Yin, an analyst at Shuohe Asset Management Co. "The numbers circulating in the market are quite substantial."