Nickel edges up as dollar slips, relieving pressure from metals

Nickel prices rose on Wednesday as the dollar slipped against most major rivals ahead of more data.

Later today, initial US data on GDP growth and consumer spending will be released, crucial in gauging the likely path ahead for US policies.

Investors are also focusing on corporate quarterly results, and inflation-related data as investors expect the US economy to land softly this year, with the Federal Reserve preparing to cut interest rates. 

Odds of a 0.25% interest rate cut by the Federal Reserve at the March meeting currently stands at 48%, while odds for such a cut at the May meeting stood at 87%.

Nickel is used extensively in the steel industry, with promising uses as well in EV batteries.

Otherwise, the dollar index fell 0.5% as of 16:03 GMT to 103.06, with a session-high at 103.5, and a low at 102.7. 

On trading, nickel spot prices rose 1.3% as of 16:14 GMT to $16.206 thousand a tonne.