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However base metals including copper and nickel closed slightly higher on Friday, as did iron ore.
Despite positive leads from northern hemisphere markets on Friday, the benchmark S&P/ASX200 was in negative territory this afternoon.
Lithium miner Orocobre (ASX: ORE; TSX: ORL) was the top market riser on the index in afternoon trade, up more than 5.3% in a newsy day.
It announced production for the June quarter was the second highest ever achieved, 28% higher than the previous quarter, and would likely equate to lower unit costs.
It also unveiled a six-fold resource increase for the Cauchari lithium joint venture in Argentina which will be the basis for a preliminary economic assessment this quarter.
Despite gold price woes, Canadian explorer GT Gold (TSXV: GTT) closed up 15.58% on Friday to C89c, after last week starting drilling at its high-grade Saddle discovery in British Columbia's Golden Triangle.
Meanwhile money managers say trade jitters are prompting them to look for ways to protect profits in the event equity markets take a dive after years of growth, Reuters reported.
