Copper futures rose on Friday, lifted by a retreat in the US dollar against most currencies, while pressure on metals and commodities eased.

President Donald Trump said he directed state governors to reopen the US economy, with the most federal agencies coming back to work.

Trump wants to restart the US economy, and recover from the coronavirus impact on most of the US economic sectors.

The dollar index fell 0.3% to trade at 99.7 points as of 15:12 GMT, after hitting a high of 100.2 and a low of 99.6.

Copper May futures rose 2% to $2.35 per pound as of 15:09 GMT, after earlier hitting a high of $2.37 and a low of $2.32.

Silver prices dropped more than 3% on Friday, off 5-week highs, on profit-taking, as the US dollar rose against a basket of major currencies.

Silver lost 3.2% to $15.01an ounce, after it closed higher by 0.6% yesterday, posting its second daily gain in 3 days, as most industrial metals rose

Silver lost 1.8% on Wednesday, on profit taking from 5-week peak of $15.84 hit on Tuesday.

While the dollar index rose against a basket of currencies by 0.3%, to extend its gains for third day, which weighed down on dollar-denominated metals.

Demand for the US dollar increased, amid growing fears over a liquidity crunch and global recession, following the recent International Monetary Fund's forecasts for the global economy, as IMF described it as "The Great Lockdown."

Gold futures fell on Friday, to deepen losses for the third straight day, to pullback from 8-year high, and drop below the $1700 mark, on profit-taking, in addition to strong demand for the US dollar. 

Gold lost 1.4% to $1,694.87 an ounce, after it closed lower by 0.2% yesterday, posting its second daily loss, on profit taking from 8-year peak of $1,747.43.

While the dollar index rose against a basket of currencies by 0.3%, to extend its gains for third day, which weighed down on gold and other dollar-denominated metals.

Demand for the US dollar increased, amid growing fears over a liquidity crunch, following the recent International Monetary Fund's forecasts for the global economy.

The International Monetary Fund called the impact of the coronavirus as "The Great Lockdown", and unveiled its forecast for the global economy, which is expected to shrink by 3% 2020 from a growth of 3.3%.

Gold stocks at the SPDR ETF remained unchanged yesterday, with the total at the highest level since May 2013 of 1021.69 metric tonnes.

Oil prices continued to drop as the US market opened on Friday, with US crude on track for the sixth loss in a row, dropping more than 10% and plumbing 18-year lows, while Brent is nearing two-week lows on concerns about the US oversupply and global demand even after implementing a global output cut, and after data showed a surge in US inventories and a steep drop in China's GDP in the first quarter. 

US crude fell 10% to $18.13 a barrel, the lowest since January 2002, while Brent tumbled 4.1% to $27.60 a barrel. 

US crude was down 1.9% on Thursday, while Brent eked out a 1.6% profit off two-week lows at $27.18. 

The US crude has lost 21% and Brent crude 15% so during this week, to head for the second straight weekly loss.

US data showed commercial stockpiles rose by 19.2 million barrels in the week ending April 10, the 12th weekly increase in a row, and the largest on record. 

Total stocks now stand at 504 million barrels, the highest since late August as demand slumps. 

Earlier Chinese data showed GDP fell by 9.8% as expected in the first quarter, compared to a 1.5% rise in the fourth quarter of last year, while the economy contracted by 6.8% y/y. 

China's retail sales fell 15.8% in March, while industrial production fell 1.1%, containing a 13.5% tumble in February. 

China has marked the first economic recession on record as Covid 19 ravaged the population and continues to do so throughout the world. 

The International Energy Agency expects global oil demand to fall by 29 million bpd in April, the lowest in 25 years. 

The decline in demand far outstrips the 9.7 million bpd cut agreed upon by OPEC plus countries, while other countries including the US are expected to cut another 10 million bpd, bringing the global decline in supplies to 20 million bpd.