SINGAPORE, Aug 8 (Reuters) - Nickel prices shot up onThursday, with London nickel set for its biggest one-day gain ina decade and Shanghai nickel touching a record high amid worriesthat major supplier Indonesia could soon ban exports of ore.
Three-month nickel on the London Metal Exchangerallied as much as 12.7%, its strongest one-day jump since 2009,while the most-traded nickel contract on the Shanghai FuturesExchange rallied to 124,890 yuan ($17,736.53) a tonne,its highest on record.
Traders and analysts cited market chatter that major nickelore supplier Indonesia, which also supplies tin, would soon banexports of some ores.
"I just heard that there will be a regulation released inthe near future, but details are unclear," said a nickelanalyst.
London tin rallied 2.3% and Shanghai tinjumped 2.1% by 0200 GMT.
"People believe the ban is coming," said an executive at amajor nickel producer in Indonesia.
FUNDAMENTALS
* OPEN INTEREST: London nickel's open interest <MNI-OI-TOT>touched a record high earlier this month, while open interestfor the Shanghai October contract hit its highest since March2018, indicating strong interest in nickel.
* COPPER: Production at Chile's state-owned Codelco coppermining company fell 12.1% to 769,400 tonnes in the first half of2019 compared with the same period last year, the country'sCochilco copper commission said on Wednesday.
* TRUMP: U.S. President Donald Trump said his tough stanceon China's economic and trade policies would ultimately benefitthe American economy, even as Beijing signaled it could strikeback by curbing sales of chemicals known as rare earths that areused in everything from iPhones to military equipment.
* For the top stories in metals and other news, clickor
MARKETS NEWS
* Asian shares braced for more volatility as eye-catchingeasings by central banks stoked fears of global recession,driving U.S. yields to near-record lows and lifting gold past$1,500 for the first time since 2013.
DATA/EVENTS AHEAD (GMT)
1200 Brazil IPCA Inflation Index MM July
1230 US Initial Jobless Claims weekly
N/A China Exports YY July
N/A China Imports YY July
N/A China Trade Balance USD July
PRICES
Three month LME copper
Most active ShFE copper
Three month LME aluminium
Most active ShFE aluminium
Three month LME zinc
Most active ShFE zinc
Three month LME lead
Most active ShFE lead
Three month LME nickel
Most active ShFE nickel
Three month LME tin
Most active ShFE tin
ARBS($1 = 7.0414 Chinese yuan renminbi)
(Reporting by Mai Nguyen, Melanie Burton and Tom Daly; editingby Richard Pullin)