According to report, Russian copper and nickel producer Norilsk Nickel said it would plan its nickel and copper production by 15% within 7 years.

The company will invest US$6.5-7.5 billion and the plan was expected to be approved by early 2019. Norilsk Nickel saw the production class-1 battery-grade nickel will increase by 50% by 2025, and the production for platinum and palladium will rise by 25%.

It also said its market sales for nickel were about 57% in Europe and 26% to Asia, and it saw a competitive advantage in European market.

The global nickel supply deficit for 2019 was expected to be smaller to 22,000 tons from 143,000 tons in 2018, according to Antaike, a research organization in China.