Gold rose sharply in Friday trading after a report showed weaker-than-expected sales of new homes in the U.S. last month. Gold futures closed out the week with an almost 2% gain.

The Commerce Department reported that new home sales in July dropped 13.4%, falling to a seasonally adjusted annual pace of 394,000. That marked the lowest rate since October and fell well short of the seasonally adjusted annual pace of 485,000 anticipated by economists. The surprise pullback ignited investor speculation that a weakening real estate market could force the Federal Reserve to delay any effort to taper its monthly bond-buying.

Gold futures for December delivery climbed 1.8% to $1,395.80 per ounce on Friday, according to CME Group. Gold traded as high as $1,398.70 and as low as $1,367.80. Gold bullion closed in London at $1,398, according to BullionVault.

Silver futures for December delivery surged 3% to $23.78 per ounce. Friday’s high for silver was $24.15, while the low was $22.94.

Gold and silver funds advanced in Friday trading.

• The SPDR Gold Trust (GLD) rose 1.6%.
• The iShares Gold Trust (IAU) added 1.5%.
• The iShares Silver Trust (SLV) surged 4%.

Gold and silver mining ETFs gained during the day.

• The Market Vectors Gold Miners ETF (GDX) increased 2.5%.
• The Market Vectors Junior Gold Miners ETF (GDXJ) climbed 5.4%.
• The Global X Silver Miners ETF (SIL) rose 3.1%.

Gold mining shares climbed on Friday.

• Agnico-Eagle Mines (AEM) improved 3.7%.
• Barrick Gold (ABX) rose 2.6%.
• Eldorado Gold (EGO) added 2.2%.
• Goldcorp (GG) increased 1.9%.
• Kinross Gold (KGC) advanced 3%.
• Newmont Mining (NEM) moved up 2.6%.
• NovaGold Resources (NG) tacked on 1.3%.
• Yamana Gold (AUY) gained 3.1%.

Silver mining shares moved higher during the day.

• Coeur d’Alene Mines (CDE) advanced 4.5%.
• Hecla Mining (HL) added 3.2%.
• Pan American Silver (PAAS) edged up 1.3%.
• Silver Wheaton (SLW) gained 2.3%.
• Silver Standard Resources (SSRI) increased 3.8%.

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.