The Dow Jones Industrial Average, on the flip side, seems to have stemmed its painful week as oil prices have retreated under $100 a barrel. Reports that Saudi Arabia would be ready to release more oil if there was a substantial loss of exports from Libya, calmed investors and eliminated the frantic need for safe-haven assets.
Silver prices were following gold Friday, settling down 25 cents to $32.92 an ounce. Silver has seen a 1.8% correction since Thursday morning. Some analysts had predicted a steeper 10% correction.
Vote: How high will silver prices go in 2011?
The U.S. dollar index was adding 0.26% to $77.26, which could also provide a short-term headwind for silver and gold.
Scott Redler, chief strategic officer for T3Live.com, says that gold prices could move higher but that the metal ran so far so fast that it might need a breather. Gold rallied 2% in the past week factoring in a 2011 high of $1,418 an ounce. The rally has pretty much been a straight arrow up.
Vote: Where will gold prices finish in 2011?
"If we could stay here and [gold] stays above $1,400 [or $1,390] ... and [gold] proves that demand is strong, we're going to get that breakout trade," says Redler.
