Nickel rallies above $18,000 barrier

Nickel prices rose on Wednesday, and shrugged off the US dollar's rise against most of its peers, and the metal extended its gains thanks to positive the global economic outlook.

The continued recovery of the global economy, led by the US economy, will undoubtedly lift demand for commodities and metals.

The metal also is being lifted by growing demand from automakers, as it recently has attracted strong demand from the electric vehicle industry.

The Federal Reserve will release the minutes of its last meeting later today, during which it projected to raise the interest rate twice in 2023.

The dollar index rose against a basket of currencies by 0.1% to 92.6 points as of 13:50 GMT, after it hit a high of 92.6 points and a low of 92.4 points.

As of 14:01 GMT, nickel spot futures rose 0.4% to $18,560 per tonne.