Uncertainty over last minute negotiations in Washington ahead of the rapidly approach U.S. fiscal cliff deadline sent gold down in Friday trading, erasing the previous sessions’ slight gains to finish with a small loss for the week.

Gold futures for February delivery fell 0.5% to $1,655.90 on Friday, according to CME Group. Gold traded as high as $1,667 and as low as $1,654.10. Gold bullion closed in London at $1,658, according to BullionVault.

Silver futures for February delivery dipped 0.9% to $29.95 per ounce. Friday’s high for silver was $30.30, while the low was $29.94.

Gold and silver funds slid in Friday trading.

• The SPDR Gold Trust (NYSE:GLD) fell 0.4%.
• The iShares Gold Trust (NYSE:IAU) also dipped 0.4%.
• The iShares Silver Trust (NYSE:SLV) dropped 0.5%.

Gold and silver mining ETFs also retreated during the day.

• The Market Vectors Gold Miners ETF (NYSE:GDX) declined 1.1%.
• The Market Vectors Junior Gold Miners ETF (NYSE:GDXJ) moved down 0.7%.
• The Global X Silver Miners ETF (NYSE:SIL) decreased 0.6%.

Gold mining shares mostly sank, but NovaGold Resources (NYSE:NG) bucked the trend with a small gain.

• Agnico-Eagle Mines (NYSE:AEM) slipped 0.3%.
• Barrick Gold (NYSE:ABX) fell 0.7%.
• Eldorado Gold (NYSE:EGO) slid 1.3%.
• Goldcorp (NYSE:GG) declined 1.2%.
• Kinross Gold (NYSE:KGC) sank 1.3%.
• Newmont Mining (NYSE:NEM) dropped 1%.
• NovaGold Resources gained 0.5%.
• Yamana Gold (NYSE:AUY) moved down 0.8%.

Silver mining shares mostly moved lower on Friday.

• Coeur d’Alene Mines (NYSE:CDE) declined 0.9%.
• Hecla Mining (NYSE:HL) dropped 2.3%.
• Pan American Silver (NASDAQ:PAAS) fell 2.4%.
• Silver Wheaton (NYSE:SLW) rose 0.3%
• Silver Standard Resources (NASDAQ:SSRI) sank 2.5%.

As of this writing, Christopher Freeburn did not hold a position in any of the aforementioned securities. Adrian Ash of BullionVault contributed to this report.