India's gold futures are expected to extend gains from the previous session's record on Friday, tracking a weaker rupee, analysts said. "It (gold) will be consolidating for a day or two in the range of 15,400-15,555 and then continue to go up," said Gnanasekar Thiagarajan, director with Commtrendz Research. A weaker rupee pushes up prices of the yellow metal locally as bulk of it is imported and vulnerable to currency movements. "Markets may bounce back later in the day," said Debjyoti Chatterjee, associate vice-president, MAPE ADMISI Commodity Research, adding gold may trade in the range of 15,300-15,700. The benchmark April gold contract MAUJ9 closed 0.7 percent lower at 15,455 rupees per 10 grams, after hitting an all-time high of 15,706 rupees in the last session. It may open at around 15,500 rupees per 10 grams, said Commtrendz's Thiagarajan. COPPER: India copper futures are expected to open lower on Friday tracking markets in London, but a weaker rupee may limit the downside later in the session, analysts said. At 9:28 a.m., three-month LME copper was 0.30 percent lower at $3,287 a tonne, after hitting a low of $3,265. "Copper will continue to inch-up but will not sustain higher levels," said Commtrendz's Thiagarajan. "Copper will witness its resistance level of 164-165 rupees and from there it would fall to 150," Thiagarajan added. The benchmark February contract MCCG9 on the Multi Commodity Exchange (MCX) ended 2 percent higher at 161.75 rupees per kg. It may open at 161.2 rupees per kg and may trade in the range of 156.5-166.3 rupees for the day, said Vishal Maniyar, an analyst with Karvy Comtrade in Hyderabad. February zinc MZIG9 ended flat at 55.15 rupees per kg, while lead for February MLDG9 closed steady at 53.35 rupees per kg.

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