Standard & Poor's Financial Services LLC (S&P), a financial services company in the US, raised the expected price for nickel and copper, of which nickel was expected to rise by 8%, and copper prices were expected to rise by 3% by 2020.

S&P mentioned that the nickel prices could rise to US$14,000/ton in 2020, up by 8%, mainly due to factors such as falling nickel production from some global major producers and the growth in stainless steel production in China.

On the other hand, copper prices were expected to rise by 3% to US$7,000/ton by 2020.