August gold futures are expected to open floor trading in New York around $12 an ounce higher Friday, based on electronic activity ahead of the pit session at the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange. July silver is expected to be up 32 cents an ounce. The metals were boosted in overseas trading by weakness in the U.S. dollar, anlaysts said. At 7:56 a.m. EDT, spot gold was trading up $14.25 to $973.75. In other markets that have the potential to impact metals in the short term, the euro is up to $1.4096 from $1.3942 late Thursday afternoon. In screen trading ahead of the pit open, the June S&P 500 futures are up 6.60 points to 911.40. July crude oil is up 95 cents to $66.03 a barrel in overnight activity. U.S. economic reports on the calendar Friday include: - preliminary first-quarter gross domestic product at 8:30 a.m. EDT (1230 GMT), expected to be down 5.5%; - the May Chicago Purchasing Managers Index at 9:45 a.m. EDT (1345 GMT), expected to uptick slightly to 42 from 40.1 the prior month; and - the University of Michigan consumer-sentiment index at 9:55 a.m. EDT (1355 GMT), expected to end May around 67.9, same as in the middle of the month. In New York Thursday, fund buying boosted gold as rising oil prices and gains in the euro also supported the metal. August gold rose $8 to settle at $963.20, while July silver rose 29.5 cents to settle at $15.16 an ounce. Comex gold warehouse stocks were steady at 8,322,609 ounces Thursday, while silver stocks were up 196,637 ounces at 120,106,464 ounces.

Source