Gold futures on the COMEX division of the New York Mercantile Exchange scored a gain for a second straight session on Friday, but failed to reclaim 1,400 U.S. dollars an ounce by the close and ended the week with a loss of 7. 1 percent.

The most active gold contract for June delivery added 3.1 dollars, or 0.22 percent, to settle at 1,395.6 dollars per ounce.

Gold lost 105.8 dollars an ounce from last Friday's close of 1, 501.4 U.S. dollars to mark the metal's fourth-weekly loss in a row. On a percentage basis, that was the biggest weekly loss for a most active contract since the week ended Sept. 23, 2011, according to FactSet data.

The talk of demand for physical gold has been growing since the selloff in gold futures last Friday and on Monday. Losses during those two sessions resulted in a drop of more than 200 dollars an ounce in prices for the precious metal, according to market analysts.

Barclays Capital on Friday lowered its forecasts on gold prices, expecting them to average 1,483 dollars an ounce in 2013 and 1,450 dollars in 2014. In March, it cut its outlook for this year by 7.4 percent to 1,646 dollars, according to Dow Jones.

Given that backdrop, silver for May delivery fell 28.5 cents, or 1.23 percent, to close at 22.96 dollars per ounce. Endi

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