However, on reflection, and with the release of some strong economic data later in the session, gold fell all the way back to 1660 before finding support and moving higher, closing around 1667.
The price action on Friday illustrates perfectly the sensitivity of the market to economic data at this time, particularly in relation to employment, and also the danger of trading before, during and after data releases - anyone trading gold on Friday could have been fleeced, whether long or short.
It is almost always best to sit on the sidelines and wait until the dust settles after a highly anticipated news item is released. We are professional traders, not gamblers, and attempting to guess market moves on data releases is a sure way to disaster.