June gold futures are expected to open floor trading in New York around $2 an ounce higher Thursday, 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 about 10 cents an ounce. At 7:53 a.m. EDT, spot gold was trading up $4.57 to $893.72. In overnight activity, spot gold edged higher Thursday as losses in equity markets prompted safe-haven buying. In other markets that have the potential to affect metals in the short term, the euro is up to $1.3062 from $1.3002 late Wednesday afternoon. In screen trading ahead of the pit open, the June S&P 500 futures are up 7.00 points to 843.90. June crude is up 97 cents to $49.82 in overnight activity. U.S. economic reports on Thursday include: - April 18 jobless claims at 8:30 a.m. EDT (1230 GMT), with weekly claims expected up 30,000 at 640,000; - March existing home sales at 10 a.m. EDT (1400 GMT), with total sales expected down 0.4% at a 4.69 million annual rate. In New York Wednesday, gold futures rose on a lower U.S. dollar and skittishness in equities stemming from financial-sector concerns. June gold rose $9.80 to settle at $892.50. May silver rose 24.5 cents to settle at $12.305. Comex gold warehouse stocks were down 999 ounces at 8,459,538 ounces Wednesday, while silver stocks were up 678,747 ounces at 117,081,045 ounces.

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