Amid sustained demand growth, India plans to build a strategic reserve of critical minerals including lithium, cobalt, nickel, copper and rare earths. The stockpile will be sized to cover six months of domestic consumption, aiming to guard against risks of global supply disruptions and sharp raw material price volatility. Led by India’s Ministry of Mines and Ministry of Heavy Industries, the reserve covers key raw materials essential for new energy vehicles, energy storage and the electronics sector, fields where India currently relies heavily on imports. At present, the United States, China, South Korea and other countries have already established strategic reserve systems for critical minerals.

According to the World Bank’s April 2026 Commodity Markets Outlook, global refined nickel production is expected to increase modestly in 2026 and 2027 as new processing capacity comes online in Indonesia. However, the report warned that tighter upstream ore availability is likely to constrain capacity utilization. This suggests future growth in Indonesia’s nickel supply may depend increasingly on ore availability rather than nominal processing capacity alone.

According to the World Bank’s April 2026 Commodity Markets Outlook, nickel prices are projected to rise 12% year on year in 2026 and a further 3% in 2027, as global consumption growth is expected to outpace supply expansion. The report said that although new nickel processing capacity will continue to come online in Indonesia, tighter upstream ore availability is likely to constrain utilization rates and keep the market tight. It also noted that further disruptions to sulfur exports from Middle East producers could become an additional upside risk for nickel prices.

Vale reported first-quarter net revenue of $9.26 billion, up 14% year on year, though slightly below analysts’ forecast of $9.37 billion. The company said higher sales volumes across its key products, including iron ore, copper, and nickel, were among the main drivers of revenue growth. The figures suggest a clear recovery in Vale’s core business revenue as commodity prices improved.

Vale’s nickel sales rose 15.2% year on year in the first quarter, while output reached its highest first-quarter level since 2020. The company said both copper and nickel production posted multi-year highs for the period, indicating a solid start to 2026 for its base metals business. The result points to improving nickel supply performance at Vale and stronger support for overall quarterly sales growth.

Scrap tightening and a major nickel-cobalt producer's output cut pushed SHFE stainless steel to levels not seen since 2023 — yet physical demand remains conspicuously absent heading into the May Day break