April gold futures are expected to open floor trading in New York around $4 an ounce higher Wednesday, 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 13 cents an ounce. Investment buying continued in overseas markets during the night as market participants continue seeking precious metals as a safe haven due to ongoing worries about the global economy and banking system. At 7:54 a.m. EST, spot gold was trading up $1 to $970.50. In other markets that have the potential to impact metals in the short term, the euro is lower at $1.2587, compared to $1.2604 late Tuesday afternoon. In screen trading ahead of the pit open, the March S&P 500 futures are up 3.50 points to 788.80. March crude oil is up 3 cents to $34.96 a barrel in overnight activity. U.S. economic reports and events on the calendar Wednesday include: - January housing starts at 8:30 a.m. EST (1330 GMT), forecast to fall 4.9% to an annualized rate of 523,000 units; - January import prices at 8:30 a.m. EST (1330 GMT), forecast to fall 1.5%; - January industrial production at 9:15 a.m. EST (1415 GMT), expected to be down 1.7%, while capacity utilization is forecast at 72.3%, down from 73.6% the prior month; - Federal Chairman Ben Bernanke addresses the economic outlook in Washington at 1 p.m. EST (1800 GMT); and - release of the minutes of the January Federal Open Market Committee at 2 p.m. EST (1900 GMT). In New York Wednesday, gold futures rallied to their highest point since July as participants flocked to the metal - as well as the U.S. dollar and Treasurys - in search of safe-haven investments amid financial uncertainty. April gold rose $25.30 to settle at $967.50 an ounce, March silver rose 38.5 cents to $14.010. Comex gold warehouse stocks were steady at 8,428,990 ounces Tuesday, while silver stocks were down 546,666 ounces at 123,792,905 ounces.

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