Commodities

Nickel ended slightly lower by 0.34% to US$15,990 per ton on the London Metal Exchange (LME) Tuesday (Jan 21) as investors responded negatively President Trump’s policies on electric vehicle (EV) and energy transition program. 

Kuwait Foreign Petroleum Exploration Company (KUFPEC) is reportedly committed to invest US$10 billion in the development of oil and gas resources in Aceh province, used to the largest gas producing area in the country.  

Legislation body (Baleg) of the House of Representatives (DPR) has agreed to initiate amendment of the Law No. 4/2009 about mineral and coal, which would legalise issuance of mining permits/concessions to mass and religious organisations, universities, and affirmative actions to support small and medium enterprises (SMEs).

President Prabowo Subianto inaugurated commercial operation of 26 new power plants with a total capacity of 3.2 GW simultaneously in 18 provinces throughout the country yesterday. Built with estimated investment of Rp72 trillion, the additional supply might only worsening electricity oversupply in the country.

“I’m sure within five years, we no longer need to import fuel,” said President Prabowo Subianto on Monday (Jan 20) when inaugurating 37 energy projects. Countless of times already! Similar to the food self-sufficiency, which Prabowo said can be achieved in his second year in office, far ahead of target (fourth year), that Indonesia will no longer import food materials. Seriously?

Unlike nickel smelters, which suffered from falling price and squeezed margins in the past two years, companies operating smelter grade alumina (SGA) in Indonesia reported strong profit margin in recent years, thanks to a relatively resilient price of aluminium. 

Faster growth of energy transition, particularly in China, has contributed to more demand for aluminium. As such, more companies have committed new investments in processing bauxite resources in Indonesia, especially West Kalimantan province.

Aluminium, a critical material for the world’s energy transition, ended higher by 1.23% to US$2,635 per ton for April 2025 delivery at the London Metal Exchange (LME) Thursday (Jan 16). Used in low-carbon technologies, including wind turbines and batteries, aluminium is among the best performing metals with 21% gain year-on-year.

The Government has set a target of increasing the electricity capacity in Indonesia to 71 GW in the 2025-2034 Electricity Supply Business Plan (RUPTL) with the majority fulfilled by new and renewable energy (NRE) sources. The RUPTL 2024-2034 reflects Indonesia’s ambition to accelerate the energy transition and the government’s commitment to supporting the global agenda to reduce carbon emissions.