Copper falls on weak Chinese data

Copper futures fell on Thursday, after the release of weak Chinese economic data and a robust performance by the US dollar, in addition to anticipation for the US jobs report.

China revealed today that the CPI held at 4.5% in December, falling short of forecasts of a rise by 4.7%, while the PPI fell 0.5%.

Investors are anticipating the US jobs report for tomorrow, with forecasts for the US economy to add 150,000 jobs in December.

Otherwise, the dollar index rose against a basket of currencies by 0.1% to 97.4 points as of 14:37 GMT, and hit a high of 97.5 and a low of 97.2.

Copper March futures fell by 0.2% to $2.805 per pound as of 14:46 GMT, with a day high of $2.819 and a low of $2.799.