The US dollar rose against most of its counterparts on Friday, lifted by safe-haven demand as investors were spooked after the release of disappointing US jobs report.

The US Department of Labor revealed that the US economy has lost around 701,000 jobs in March, sharply lower than estimates of losing 100,000 jobs.

The unemployment rate jumped to 4.4% in March vs. 3.5% during February.

House of Representatives Speaker, Nancy Pelosi, called on the Trump administration to support small businesses to prevent further job losses.

President Donald Trump warned that the US will face "very, very painful two weeks" due to the coronavirus pandemic, and his administration estimated that between 100,000 and 240,000 deaths will occur from the virus peak even if the social distancing measures were followed.

The dollar index rose 0.5% to 100.6 points as of 18:04 GMT, after it hit a high of 100.8 and a low of 100.1.

Gold futures rose closed higher on Friday, despite the US dollar's rally against most currencies, as investors rushed to gold for safety following the release of weak US jobs report.

The US Department of Labor revealed that the US economy has lost around 701,000 jobs in March, and the unemployment rate jumped to 4.4% in March vs. 3.5% during February.

The dollar index rose 0.5% to 100.6 points as of 18:57 GMT, after it hit a high of 100.8 and a low of 100.1.

The US economy is suffering a severe impact from the coronavirus pandemic, as President Donald Trump warned that the US will face "very, very painful two weeks."

Gold June futures rose 0.5% to $1645.7 an ounce, but posted 0.5% weekly loss, after hitting a day high of $1648.1 and a low of $1624.4.

The Institute for Supply Management (ISM) revealed that the US service activity index reading grew during March by the slowest pace since August 2016.

The ISM manufacturing PMI reached 52.5 in March vs. 57.3 in February, but came higher than forecasts of 43 points.

Most US sectors and industries are impacted by the coronavirus pandemic and the full lockdown of most of the country.

The US dollar rose against against a basket of its peers on Friday, to continue its rally for the third day, and hit a 1-week high as investors continued to hoard cash amid the ongoing liquidity crunch, ahead of the US monthly jobs report, as the US economy is expected to lose jobs at the worst pace since the 2009 global financial crisis due to the coronavirus impact. .

The dollar index rose more than 0.6% to the level of 100.78 points, the highest since March 26, and the level of opening trading today at 100.20 points, and recorded the lowest level at 100.14 points.

The dollar index rose 0.6% to the highest since March 26 at 100.78 points, after opening at 100.20 points, and hit today's low at 100.14, while it gained 0.5% yesterday, following the release of weak US jobless claims.

The US department of labor showed jobless claims rose 3.3 million to 6.648 million in past week, the all-time record.

The US dollar index has gained 2.5% so far during this week, to head for the third weekly gain in a month, due to high demand on the greenback amid a liquidity crunch.

Global markets are witnessing broad fears after US warned of higher deaths from the Covid-19 disease in the next couple of weeks.

President Donald Trump stressed on Tuesday the US will face "very, very painful two weeks," adding "this could be a hell of a bad two weeks, this is going to be a very bad two, and maybe three weeks like we’ve never seen before." 

Additionally, the Trump administration expects between 100,000 and 240,000 deaths amid the virus peak during the next week.

Worldwide coronavirus infections surpassed the 1 million cases barrier on Thursday, according to data by Johns Hopkins University, and the death toll rose to over 53,000 victims.

Investors are anticipating the release of key US data later today, as the payrolls report is expected to show the economy has lost 100,000 jobs in March, while average earnings are expected up 0.2%, and the unemployment rate is expected up to 3.8% from five-decade lows at 3.5%. 

Should the data show more severe impact from the coronavirus outbreak, this will trigger a massive sell-off of high-yield assets, led by stocks and bonds, and also will accelerate investors' fears of liquidity shortages, leading to higher demand for the greenback.