Baker Hughes revealed today that the US crude drilling rigs rose this week by 3 to 676 rigs.

The natural gas rigs fell by 5 to 115, with the total of oil and gas rigs falling by 2 to 794 rigs.

The British pound fell against most major currencies on Friday, as the deadline for the UK's exit from the European Union approaches.

President of the European Commission and his counterpart in the European Council signed the Brexit agreement, to be presented to the EU Parliament before January 29.

European Commission President, Ursula von der Leyen, confirmed that the agreement was signed, which marks the end of a period that was full of uncertainty and turmoil between Brussels and Britain since the June 2016 referendum.

The United Kingdom will officially implement the Brexit by the end of January, and will enter a transitional period until December 31 2020.

Queen Elizabeth II formally signed today the Brexit bill, and urged the government to take the necessary measures to conclude the exit.

At 20:46 GMT, GBP/USD fell by 0.3% to 1.3078, after hitting a day high of 1.311 and a low of 1.3058.

Silver closes higher on Friday, shrugging off the US dollar rise against most major currencies, as the white metal was buoyed by global concerns about to the outbreak of the Chinese virus.

China revealed that the deadly coronavirus, as its death toll rose to 26 victims, more than 850 were infected, and the the authorities locked down two major cities were the virus spread heavily, but no sign on succeeding yet.

Multiple confirmed cases also appeared in the US, Saudi Arabia, Japan and Scotland, which threatens a global epidemic.

Otherwise, the dollar index rose by 0.2% to 97.8 points as of 21:02 GMT, after hitting a high of 97.9 and a low of 97.6.

Silver March futures rose by 1.6% to close at $18.113 an ounce, the precious metal gained 0.2% this week, with a day high of $18.145 and a low of $17.74.

The US dollar rose against most major currencies today, amid mounting concerns in global markets about the Chinese coronavirus, which has spread into several other countries outside China.

The Chinese government revealed that the deadly coronavirus, as its death toll rose to 26 victims, more than 850 were infected, and the lockdown of two major cities were the virus spread heavily.

The US announced the second confirmed case infected by the virus, and also in Saudi Arabia, Japan and Scotland.

But the World Health Organization reassured that there is no reason to declare a global emergency, but stressed that preparations must be made to prevent an epidemic.

Otherwise, President Donald Trump has threatened to impose tariffs against the EU and the UK if they introduced a digital tax against US tech companies and if they didn't reach a fair trade deal with the US.

The dollar index rose by 0.2% to 97.8 points as of 18:49 GMT, after hitting a day high of 97.9 and a low of 97.6.