April gold futures are expected to open floor trading in New York around $3 an ounce higher Friday, based on electronic activity ahead of the pit session at the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange. March silver is expected to be up 20 cents an ounce. Spot gold consolidated during overnight trading as participants awaited U.S. non-farm payrolls data. At 7:53 a.m. EST, spot gold was trading up $1.95 to $916.65. In other markets that have the potential to impact metals in the short term, the euro is up slightly to $1.2807 from $1.2798 late Thursday afternoon. In screen trading ahead of the pit open, the March S&P 500 futures are up 1.40 points to 841.90. March crude oil is down $1.34 to $39.83 a barrel in overnight activity. The monthly U.S. employment report is due out Friday at 8:30 a.m. EST (1330 GMT). The consensus forecast is for a decline of 525,000 jobs last month, with the unemployment rate rising to 7.5% from 7.2% in December. In New York Thursday, gold futures rallied sharply on safe-haven buying but then pared those strong gains as equities firmed and the metal hit resistance. April gold rose $12 to settle at $914.20 after peaking at $926.30. March silver also pared gains, settling at $12.75 an ounce, up 28 cents. Comex gold warehouse stocks were steady at 8,569,601 ounces Thursday, while silver stocks were steady at 124,637,811 ounces.

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