Gold bounced on Friday as bargain hunters resurfaced after prices slipped in the previous session, while silver could be struggling to sustain early gains following a drop in exchange-traded fund holdings. Bullion has fallen about 5 percent since rallying to a lifetime high around $1,575 an ounce in early May, but expectations the US Federal Reserve will keep monetary policy ultra-loose for a while longer following the release of weak economic data could polish up gold's safe haven appeal.
Spot gold added $5.76 an ounce to $1,497.36 by 0603 GMT. Silver barely moved, standing at 35.19 an ounce - well below a record at $49.51 an ounce in April. Holdings in the world's largest silver-backed exchange-traded fund, iShares Silver Trust , fell to 10,203.73 tonnes by May 19, from 10,446.43 tonnes on May 18.