Nickel slides as Indonesia eases export bottleneck.

Nickel tumbled on Monday, lagging other base metals after Indonesia resumed exports of minerals containing rare-earth by-products, easing near-term supply concerns. Three-month nickel on the London Metal Exchange fell 1.39% to $17,010 a metric ton as of 0720 GMT, while the most-traded nickel contract on the Shanghai Futures Exchange dropped 1.98% to close daytime trading 129,430 yuan a ton. Indonesia's mandatory rare-earth testing delayed exports of nickel pig iron and mixed hydroxide precipitate, as well as bauxite, alumina and copper cathodes. Presidential Chief of Staff Dudung Abdurachman said on Monday that the ban applied only when rare earths were the primary product, and that more than a hundred delayed vessels had now been able to sail. State surveyor will soon issue 85 previously delayed reports, he added. Traders and exporters said the clarification reduced fears of a prolonged disruption to Indonesian nickel shipments, though officials have yet to finalise concentration limits and testing procedures. Elsewhere, Weaker-than-expected Chinese manufacturing data added pressure by reinforcing concerns about metals demand in the world's largest consumer. The private RatingDog manufacturing purchasing managers’ index fell to 50.9 in July from 51.7 in June, below analysts' consensus forecast of 51.5 and marking the slowest expansion in four months. Growth in new orders slowed to its weakest since January, while manufacturers cut purchasing activity for the first time since November. An official survey released on Friday showed factory activity unexpectedly contracted in July, adding to concerns about weak domestic demand and slowing economic growth. But copper got a boost from a de-escalation in the Iran-U.S. conflict and easing inflation concerns due to tumbling oil prices. The benchmark London copper gained 0.60% at $13,874 a ton, and the Shanghai most-traded copper rose 0.54% to close at 106,120 yuan. Elsewhere on the LME, aluminium rose 0.55%, zinc rose 1.39%, lead ticked 0.11% higher, and tin was little changed, up only 0.06%. Among other base metals on SHFE, aluminium dipped 0.11%, zinc climbed 1.91%, lead tumbled 0.96%, and tin gained 0.63%.