(I have no desire to start or participate in a political debate on this thread. What follows below is written from an economic perspective only.)
I'd also add that in many respects what we're witnessing in the Ni space is a manifestation of economic efficiency in practice (i.e. investment in production chains that maximise efficiency with the least cost). It's that basic economic principle which has driven much of the LT wealth and quality of life that we in the West have come to expect over several generations (think cheap clothing from our indirect exploitation of Bangladesh, or at the other end of the scale, well-made cars from highly-efficient production chains/processes in SE Asia, etc...).
It's fashionable to blame the Chinese and call it manipulation, but I don't primarily view it through that lens. There may be an element of it present in allowing too many players to "Ni rush" into Indonesia and flood the market, but I see it much more as a symptom of the human condition, rather than anything strategically orchestrated by Beijing. Don't forget, the Indonesians have played their part too.
Moreover, I think it's good old-fashioned commercial self-interest at play. The same forces that feed the traditional boom-bust cycle in the West. But this time it has the added ingredient of introducing another industrial processing innovation (in the form of Ni laterite-to-matte conversion - also invented by the Chinese) to an already cheaply-mined laterite ore which now poses an existential threat our Ni sulphide sector.
POS Price at posting:
0.8¢ Sentiment: None Disclosure: Not Held
(20min delay)
