Trump posted a video a short while ago, thanking everyone at the "incredible" Walter Reed military medical centre and the enthusiastic supporters waiting outside.

The gold price has zig-zagged around the US$1,900 mark over the past 24 hours and was just 20c below the psychological benchmark at the time of writing.

The copper price slid on Thursday as China began a week-long holiday but closed up 2.7% on the London Metal Exchange on Friday.

US Federal Reserve chairman Jerome Powell is expected to call for more stimulus measures in a speech scheduled for tomorrow as the economic fallout from the coronavirus pandemic continues.

Among the mining majors, Rio Tinto finished up almost 1% in London on Friday.

Gold majors Newmont and Barrick Gold closed down about 1% in New York and Toronto respectively.

Finally, US molybdenum hopeful General Moly (TSX: GMO) plunged 68% to a one-year low of C4c on news regulators were preparing to delist it from the NYSE American exchange after it fell below compliance with equity requirements.

The company said it had a significant working capital deficit and "substantial doubt" remained about its ability to continue as a going concern.