DJ PRECIOUS METALS: NY Gold Seen Up $6, Silver Up 4 Cents
April gold futures are expected to open floor trading in New York around $6
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 4 cents an ounce.
At 7:59 a.m. EST, spot gold was trading down $3.50 to $896.90.
In other markets that have the potential to impact metals in the short term,
the euro is down to $1.2851 from $1.3040 late Tuesday afternoon. In screen
trading ahead of the pit open, the March S&P 500 futures are up 3 points to
834.80. March crude oil is up 80 cents to $41.58 a barrel in overnight
activity.
On the U.S. economic front, the ADP private-sector payrolls forecast is due
out at 8:15 a.m. EST (1315 GMT). Expectations are for a decline of 508,000 jobs
during December.
A Treasury quarterly refunding announcement is slated for 9 a.m. EST (1400
GMT), and the Institute for Supply Management's non-manufacturing survey is set
for 10 a.m. EST (1500 GMT). The consensus forecast is for the headline index to
slip to 39 in January from 40.1 in December.
Weekly U.S. energy-inventory data - which can affect crude oil, which often
leads metals - are due out at 10:30 a.m. EST (1530 GMT). Crude-oil stocks are
forecast to rise by 2.9 million barrels.
In New York Tuesday, gold futures came under pressure from profit-taking and
fund selling, reversing gains from earlier Tuesday, to close below $900 an
ounce despite a markedly weaker U.S. dollar. April gold fell $14.70 to $892.50
an ounce, while March silver shed 11.5 cents to settle at $12.30.
Comex gold warehouse stocks were up 14,107 ounces at 8,570,800 ounces
Tuesday, while silver stocks were up 83,847 ounces at 122,308,768 ounces.
-By Allen Sykora, Dow Jones Newswires; 541-318-8765;
allen.sykora@dowjones.com
