6 May 2026 – The Indonesian government has once again reaffirmed its intention to introduce an export tax and a windfall profit tax on nickel. Nickel prices on the SHFE and LME are jumping higher. Asian base metals are showing significant gains today.
Indonesia Plans to Introduce Export and Windfall Profit Taxes on Nickel
Since 2020, Indonesia has already had an export ban on nickel ore in place in order to boost domestic processing of this important raw material for stainless steel and batteries, and to attract foreign investors.
The processing industry there has grown significantly since then, even if the depth of processing desired by the government has not yet been achieved.
Significant Loopholes in Exports
In order to return part of the state subsidies used to build up nickel processing back into the public coffers, Indonesia is now planning to introduce export and windfall profit taxes on nickel products with a low level of processing. Since no export taxes had been levied so far, this had led to significant loopholes in exports, which were used, among other things, for under-invoicing and smuggling. According to press reports, the Directorate General of Customs and Excise, or DJBC, will thereby be granted the authority to inspect shipments before departure and thus effectively curb potential revenue losses.
A few weeks ago, the government had already adjusted the calculation basis for benchmark prices for nickel.
Nickel Prices Continue to Rise Sharply
Nickel prices have reacted to the Indonesian government’s increasingly concrete plans to introduce the new levies with significant gains. After the end of the Chinese May holidays, the leading nickel contract on the SHFE was able to gain more than 3.5% today.
Asian stainless steel futures were also able to improve further and rose by more than 1% today – meaning they have gained more than 10% since the beginning of April.
LME Nickel Just Short of USD 20,000 Mark
On the LME, early trading already indicated that European nickel prices are also likely to continue rising today. At around USD 19,900 per tonne, LME nickel was already 2.1% above Tuesday’s settlement price at the start of trading.
Asian Base Metals Clearly in Positive Territory
The other base metals also posted significant gains today. Copper rose by around 1.6%, aluminum by 1.2%, lead by 2.0%, and zinc by around 2.6%. Tin recorded the strongest increase today, jumping by almost 8.4%.
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