Copper prices rose on Friday, as the US dollar fell against most currencies, amid focus on the pandemic developments, and its impact on global demand and monetary policies.

Concerns are growing in many countries about the coronavirus pandemic, as infections surge in both the US and Europe.

However, this did not prevent governments from continuing their plans to combat the virus without imposing full lockdowns.

Several studies showed that the Omicron variant showed less serious symptoms in patients compared to other variants.

The US Department of Labor reported that the economy has added 199K new jobs in December, less than forecasts of 430K jobs, while the unemployment rate fell to 3.9% from 4.2%.

The dollar index fell against a basket of major currencies by 0.3% to 96 points as of 14:50 GMT, after hitting a high of 96.3 points and a low of 95.9 points.

Copper March futures rose 0.45 to $4.37 a pound, as of 14:46 GMT.

US stocks fell on Friday, after the release of disappointing monthly jobs report, amid focus on the Treasury bond yields.

The US Department of Labor reported that the economy has added 199K new jobs in December, less than forecasts of 430K jobs, while the unemployment rate fell to 3.9% from 4.2%.

The 10-year US Treasury bond yield rose to 1.75%, which weighs down on the stock, commodity and metal markets.

St. Louis Federal Reserve President James Bullard said that Fed could raise interest rates as soon as March, which is sooner than expected.

As for stocks, Dow Jones fell 0.1% or 50 points to 36,186 as of 15:20 GMT, and S&P 500 fell 0.1% or 8 points to 4,687, while Nasdaq fell 0.2% or 40 points to 15,041.

Euro settled in European trade against a basket of major rivals as investors shun new positions ahead of European inflation data for December, while markets estimate the path of European monetary policies.

EUR/USD last traded at 1.1300, with an intraday high at 1.1307, and a low at 1.1289.

Euro lost 0.2% yesterday, the third loss in four days on prospects of US rate hike in March.

Later today, investors are waiting for European inflation data, which shows increased inflationary pressures on ECB policymakers.

Strong inflation data will raise prospects of monetary policy tightening this year and bolster the euro.

As of 10:00 GMT, consumer prices are expected up 4.8% in December, while core prices, excluding food and energy, rose are expected up 2.5%.

The US dollar held against most currencies on Thursday, following the release of weak economic data, as investors parse the Federal Reserve's meeting minutes.

The US Department of Labor showed that the unemployment claims fell to 207K during the past week, worse than forecasts of 199K, and worse than the previous reading of 200K.

The US jobs report will be released on Friday, which shows the state of the labor market and unemployment.

The Institute for Supply Management (ISM) reported that the US services PMI slowed down to 62 points in December from 69.1 points in November, missing forecasts of 67 points.

The 10-year US Treasury bond yield rose to a 9-month high at 1.72%, following the Federal Reserve meeting minutes, which showed Federal Reserve officials are preparing to move quicker in raising interest rate than expected..

The dollar index rose against a basket of major currencies by less than 0.1% to 96.2 points as of 19:35 GMT, after hitting a high of 96.3 points and a low of 96.04 points.