DJ PRECIOUS METALS: NY Gold Seen Down $4, Silver Down 19 Cents
June gold futures are expected to open floor trading in
New York around $4 an ounce lower 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 down about 19 cents an ounce.
At 7:58 a.m. EDT, spot gold was trading down $1 to $903.20.
In overnight activity, spot gold prices traded roughly unchanged Friday in
Europe, but traders and analysts said given little fresh investor interest at
the moment, the metal could drift lower.
Furthermore, the concluding remarks from the Group of 20 Thursday in which
the summit requested the International Monetary Fund submit a proposal to sell
gold as part of its effort to raise funds for low-income countries could weigh
on prices.
The sale, the IMF said, would be for the 403.3 metric tons it is already
discussing. Any sale still needs to get approval from the U.S. Congress.
In other markets that have the potential to affect metals in the short term,
the euro was down to $1.3440 from $1.3464 late Thursday afternoon. In screen
trading ahead of the pit open, the June S&P 500 futures are up 2.10 points to
837.60. May crude is down 43 cents to $52.21 in overnight activity.
U.S. economic reports on Friday include:
- March employment at 8:30 a.m. EDT (1230 GMT), with non-farm payrolls
expected down 673,000, the unemployment rate at 8.5% and average hourly
earnings up 0.2%;
- March ISM Non-Manufacturing Composite Index at 10 a.m. EDT, with the
composite index expected at 41.6.
Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke is scheduled to speak on the Fed's balance sheet at
a Richmond Fed symposium in Charlotte at 12 p.m. EDT.
In New York Thursday, the continuing comeback in the stock market meant a
sharp sell-off in gold futures as traders unwound some safe-haven positions in
the metal and chart-based selling was triggered.
The other precious metals, all of which have greater industrial applications
than gold, managed gains, however. June gold fell $18.80 to $908.90. May silver
settled up 5 cents to $13.025.
Comex gold warehouse stocks were down 29,649 ounces at 8,478,980 ounces
Thursday, while silver stocks were down 2,150,049 ounces at 121,465,368 ounces.
