Gold, silver succumb to pre-weekend profit taking, upbeat U.S. data

Gold and silver futures lost their early gains and are trading moderately lower in late-morning dealings Friday. After posting good gains this week and hitting multi-week highs, shorter-term futures traders in both metals decided to ring the cash register and take some profits heading into the weekend.

Also, gold prices were pressured following a U.S. existing home sales report this morning that was very strong, even beating lofty expectations. Still, both gold and silver markets are in near-term price uptrends on the daily charts, suggesting the path of least resistance for prices remains sideways to higher. June gold was last down $8.50 at $1,773.70.