Copper edges higher, shrugs off rising dollar and pandemic worries

Copper prices rose on Monday, despite the US dollar's rise against most currencies, as markets continued to focus on the Omicron variant and the spread of the coronavirus pandemic.

US Chief Medical Advisor Anthony Fauci said that the risks of the Omicron variant may have been exaggerated, noting that may be less dangerous than Delta.

Cases of Omicron have already appeared in the US, Europe and Asia, but with mild symptoms and no deaths have been reported.

The dollar index rose against a basket of major currencies by 0.1% to 96.2 points as of 14:37 GMT, after hitting a high of 96.3 points and a low of 96.1 points.

Copper March futures rose 0.9% to $4.30 per pound as of 14:30 GMT.