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.

US stocks opened at fresh all-time highs today, as Dow Jones heads toward breaching the 29,000 barrier, as the market's focus shifted from the geopolitical tensions to the latest economic data.

Data showed today that the US unemployment claims fell by 9,000 to 214,000 during the past week.

While the monthly jobs report will be released tomorrow, which provides insight on the strength of the US labor market and its ability to add more jobs.

Worries about the US-Iran geopolitical tensions eased after President Donald Trump stated that the Iranian attacks against the US air base in Iraq did lead to any casualties, in addition to Iran standing down after vowing to revenge the killing of Qassem Soleimani.

As for stocks, Dow Jones rose by 0.4% or 115 points to 28,860, (after breaching 28,900 points in the start of the session), Nasdaq rose by 0.7%  or 66 points to 9,195, and S&P 500 rose by 0.4% or 14 points to 3,267.

The US dollar surged against a basket of currencies on Thursday, rising for the third straight day, and hit a two-week high,on improved investors' risk appetite as the tensions between the US and Iran eased in the Middle East, and the Chinese government confirming that the signing of the phase-one trade deal with the US will take place in Washington next week.

The dollar index rose 0.25% to 97.50 points (highest since Dec. 27), after it opened at 97.27, and hit a day low of 97.25.

The index gained 0.35% yesterday, its second daily gain, due to robust US economic data and the easing of the geopolitical tensions in the Middle East .

US data showed yesterday that non-farm rose by 202K new jobs in December, in the highest pace since last April, higher than forecasts of 160K jobs, and higher than the previous revised reading of 124K from 67K in November.

Worries about the possibility of the US-Iran geopolitical tensions developing into a direct conflict eased after the officials from both countries defused the crisis following the killing of Qassem Soleimani.

Otherwise, China's Ministry of Commerce stated on Thursday that Vice Primer Liu He will sign the phase-one trade deal with the US in Washington next week.

Oil prices continued to drop as the US market opened on Thursday, to deepen losses for the fourth straight day, near the four-week low hit yesterday, as the tensions between the US and Iran eased in the Middle East, in addition to a surprise surge in the US crude inventories.

WTI crude fell to $59.51 a barrel, after opening at $59.96, and hit an intraday high of $60.29, and Brent crude fell to $65.28, after it opened at $65.86, with a high of $66.08.

WTI closed 4.3% lower yesterday, its third daily loss in a row, and the biggest since Nov. 29, and hit a 4-week low of $59.17 on profit taking, after it reached a 9-month high of $65.62.

Brent crude futures lost 3.6%, and hit the lowest price since December at $64.96, on profit-taking from  the highest since May 22, 2019 at $71.28.

Oil prices fell from the highest in several months to the lowest in several weeks on Wednesday, after it became clear that the Iranian missile strike on US forces in Iraq did not result in major damage or casualties.

Iranian and US officials sought calming the tensions between the two sides to defuse the crisis following the killing of Iranian General Qassem Soleimani in a US airstrike.

Iranian Foreign Minister, Mohammad Javad Zarif, tweeted "'we do not seek escalation or war, but we will defend ourselves against any aggression".

President Donald Trump on Wednesday denied any casualties with little damage, and added in his speech that the US have a great army but that does not necessarily mean using it, and said that Iran is retreating.

Otherwise, the US Energy Information Administration (EIA) revealed on Wednesday that commercial inventories rose by about 1.2 million barrels during the week ending January 3, beating forecasts of a drop by 3.4million barrels, and production remained unchanged last week at 12.9 million barrels per day.