Nickel prices fell on Wednesday amid renewed concerns about global recession which might impact fuel demand.
Despite warning remarks by the IMF earlier on the state of the global economy this year, a spate of recent data from major economies spurred some optimism.
Later this week, US consumer prices data will be released for December, expected to shed light on the state of the economy.
Fed Chair Jerome Powell said it's important for the Fed to be independent from political influence as inflation accelerates, and asserted that containing inflation requires hard decisions.
Powell also said achieving independence for the Fed will allow it to use its tools effectively.
Otherwise, the dollar index rose 0.1% to 103.2 as of 15:17 GMT, with a session-high at 103.4, and a low at 103.1.
Nickel is used extensively in the steel and electric car industries for its promise as a part of batteries.
Nickel spot prices fell 3.3% to $26.75 thousand as of 15:28 GMT.