Unrest In A French Territory Is Driving Up The Price Of Nickel

Some commentators have likened the protests in New Caledonia, which has prevented any shipments or production, to a dawning “civil war.”

The deadly riots that broke out earlier this month in the French territory of New Caledonia are pushing up the price of nickel, a key metal needed to transition off fossil fuels that has gotten more expensive as global conflicts affect the market.

The South Pacific archipelago, located roughly 1,000 miles off Australia’s east coast, was the world’s third-largest producer last year of nickel. The metal is used for everything from steelmaking to solar panels, but is particularly prized as an ingredient in batteries for large machines like electric vehicles, allowing them to last longer on a single charge.

Nickel prices dipped last year as electric car sales stalled out, allowing a surplus to pile up in warehouses around the world. But prices spiked again in February, when Swiss mining behemoth Glencore announced plans to exit New Caledonia and sell its half of one of the territory’s biggest mines.

Then, in April, new Western sanctions against Moscow prompted the Chicago Mercantile Exchange and the London Metals Exchange ― the largest U.S. and world markets for options and futures contracts on metals, respectively ― to ban Russian-produced nickel. With projected demand for nickel already outstripping the world’s current planned supply, cutting a major producer out of the market hiked prices.

Now, simmering unrest in New Caledonia, which some commentators have likened to a dawning “civil war,” has prevented any shipments or production of nickel, sending the price of the metal surging by more than 7% in recent weeks. It’s just the latest squeeze, but raises doubts over the West’s capacity to rewire supply chains and reduce dependence on geopolitical rivals such as China and Russia.