Open interest in gold futures markets dropped for the second session in a row on Friday, this time by around 21.3K contracts, the largest single-day drop since March 10. Volume followed suit and shrank by around 32.8K contracts, adding to the previous daily drop.

Gold: Next on the upside comes $1,688

Friday’s inconclusive price action in gold was on the back of shrinking open interest and volume, exposing further side-lined trading in the very near term. Extra gains, in the meantime, should initially target the weekly high at $1,688 per ounce troy (September 21).