Sizeable output cuts will help shore up nickel prices, which are likely to have reached a bottom after a year-long slide, but tighter supplies are not expected to eliminate surpluses. Specifically, the cutbacks have affected nickel pig iron (NPI) and ferronickel, both used to make stainless steel, where prices at around $14 000 a metric ton have dropped more than 15% since the third quarter of 2022.