Nickel falls, but remains above $20,000 barrier

Nickel prices fell on Wednesday, despite the US dollar's drop against most currencies, but the industrial metal is still above $20,000 per tonne.

Markets are still following news of the new coronavirus variant, Omicron, which is believed to be resistant to existing vaccines and also highly contagious, threatening the return of closure restrictions and lockdown measures that impact demand and economic recovery.

US President Joe Biden said that there is no need to tighten lockdown restrictions, noting that the US will not impose travel restrictions.

The dollar index fell against a basket of major currencies by 0.2% to 95.7 points as of 14:49 GMT, after hitting a high of 96.1 points and a low of 95.7 points.

Nickel spot prices fell 1.6%, to $20,021.6 a tonne as of 15:01 GMT.