Dion's Friday ETF Winners and Losers

Welcome to Don Dion's "ETF Winners and Losers." Be sure to stop by throughout the week to find out which ETFs are gaining or losing.

Winners

iShares Silver Trust(SLV) 3.2%

Silver prices are bouncing following Thursday's industry-leading decline. Gold is trekking higher as well, recovering some of the ground lost during its mid-week slide.

The strength is not sweeping, however. ETFS Physical Palladium Shares(PALL) is relatively unchanged as investors express hesitance towards inherently volatile shiny commodity.

Meanwhile, base metals are strengthening, as indicated by the upward action seen from the PowerShares DB Base Metals Fund(DBB), which tracks futures contracts linked to copper, aluminum, and zinc.

iShares MSCI Russia Capped Investable Market Index Fund(ERUS) 2%

After two days of losses pushed them to their 50-day moving averages, Russia-tracking ETFs including ERUS and Market Vectors Russia ETF(RSX) are bouncing higher.

The gains from these energy-heavy products are impressive considering the weakness in crude. Despite breaking through the $100 mark earlier in the week, the closely watched commodity has retreated a bit, falling back below this level. The United States Oil Fund(USO) is off over 1% heading into the weekend.

iShares MSCI Italy Index Fund(EWI) 1.9%

After Thursday's weak action, the markets appear to be on track to end the week on a mixed note. Internationally, Europe is seeing gains as investor sentiment swings from headline to headline.

EWI and the iShares MSCI Spain Index Fund(EWP) are leading, but conservative investors should steer clear! of this troubled region.

Losers

iPath Dow Jones UBS Natural Gas Subindex Total Return ETN(GAZ) --3.1%

Oil is not the only energy resource heading lower as we approach the weekend. Natural gas is faltering as well. GAZ and the United States Natural Gas Fund(UNG) are surrendering all of the gains from Thursday's trading session. Both appear on the verge of locking in all-time lows.

The equity-backed First Trust ISE Revere Natural Gas Index Fund(FCG) is relatively unchanged at this time.

iPath S&P 500 VIX Short Term Futures ETN(VXX) -3.1%

Although it has managed to remain buoyed above its 50-day moving average, the fear-tracking VXX is struggling to surpass previous November lows.

Meanwhile, the same moving average is proving to be a point of resistance for the VIX index. This decline marks the third time that it has failed to surpass the level since the start of the month.

iShares S&P North American Technology-Software Index Fund(IGV) -1.6%

A three-day streak of losses has pushed the software-tracking IGV to new November lows. Looking ahead, it will be interesting to see if the fund will continue to fall. Prior to its October breakout, the fund spent weeks struggling to rise above $56.

All prices as of 2:14 PM EST