Nickel extends gains above $20,000 mark

Nickel prices rose on Wednesday, as the US dollar fell against most of its peers, amid focus on the recovery of global demand.

Nickel, industrial metals and other risk assets were lifted after US Chief Medical Advisor Anthony Fauci said that the risks of the Omicron variant may have been exaggerated, noting that may be less dangerous than Delta.

Fauci stated that the initial data from South Africa are encouraging and optimistic, and there is no evidence about the number of mutations in this variant, but the Delta variant is more wide-spread than it.

A study published by Pfizer and BioNTech showed that giving a third booster shot of the Covid vaccine may protect against the Omicron variant.

The dollar index fell against a basket of major currencies by 0.2% to 96.1 points as of 15:00 GMT, after hitting a high of 96.3 points and a low of 96.1 points.

Nickel spot prices rose 1.6% to $20,303.5 a tonne as of 15:10 GMT.