Copper inches higher as dollar rises amid Omicron concerns

Copper prices edged higher on Thursday, amid focus on the pandemic developments and the rising coronavirus infections, while the US dollar rose against most currencies.

The French government reported more than 208,000 cases in a single day, the highest daily rate of infections in Europe since the outbreak of the pandemic.

The French Minister of Health warned of a coronavirus tsunami in France, which reflects WHO Director Tedros Adhanom's statements  that Omicron, spreading at the same time as Delta, is leading to a tsunami of cases.

This came despite a study on cases infected with the omicron variant suggested lower risk of hospitalization and severe disease compared to the delta variant.

The dollar index rose against a basket of major currencies by 0.1% to 95.9 points as of 14:55 GMT, after hitting a high of 96.2 points and a low of 95.8 points.

Copper March futures rose 0.2% to $4.42 a pound, as of 14:51 GMT.