Gold prices are seeing strong selling pressure Friday and are struggling to hold onto gains for the second consecutive week, and one major U.S. bank sees potential for more weakness in the near term.

In a report published Friday, commodity analysts at Bank of America Merrill Lynch said that significant speculative long positioning in gold futures supports a contrarian view that gold prices, at least in the short term, can move lower.

However, while speculative positioning and weakening momentum have the biggest impact on prices in the near term, the analysts remain bullish on the yellow metal in the long term. BoAML reaffirmed its view that prices could hit $1,500 an ounce in 2017 because of unprecedented investor demand.