DJ PRECIOUS METALS: NY Gold Seen Up $10, Silver Up 30 Cents
April gold futures are expected to open floor trading in New York around $10
an ounce higher Friday, based on electronic activity ahead of the pit session
at the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange. May silver is
expected to be up 30 cents an ounce.
Gold rose in overnight activity that London traders described as largely
technical in nature.
Much of the focus this morning will be the monthly U.S. employment report due
out at 8:30 a.m. EST (1330 GMT). The forecast is for a loss of 652,000 non-farm
payrolls jobs in February, with the unemployment rate expected to rise to 8%
from 7.6% the prior month.
At 7:55 a.m. EST, spot gold was trading up $4.70 to $937.30.
In other markets that have the potential to impact metals in the short term,
the euro is up to $1.2646 from $1.2540 late Thursday afternoon. In screen
trading ahead of the pit open, the March S&P 500 futures are down 3.20 points
to 682.90. April crude oil is up 54 cents to $44.15 a barrel in overnight
activity.
In New York Thursday, gold futures closed sharply higher due to
flight-to-safety buying as stocks slumped, bargain hunting after the metal's
recent downward correction and an abatement of some of the recent scrap
selling, analysts said. April gold rose $21.10 to $927.80 an ounce, while May
silver rose 20.5 cents to $13.12.
Comex gold warehouse stocks were up 9,704 ounces at 8,665,365 ounces
Thursday, while silver stocks were down 4,977 ounces at 125,108,070 ounces.
-By Allen Sykora, Dow Jones Newswires; 541-318-8765;
allen.sykora@dowjones.com
