December gold futures are expected to open floor trading in New York around $7 an ounce higher Monday, based on electronic activity ahead of the pit session at the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange. December silver is expected to be 19 cents stronger.
At 7:58 a.m. EDT, spot gold was trading up $5.35 to $1,054.60.
In other markets that have the potential to impact metals in the short term, the euro is up to $1.4765 from $1.4711 late Friday afternoon. In screen trading ahead of the pit open, the December S&P 500 futures are up 7.30 points to 1,075.40. November crude oil is up $1.60 to $73.37 a barrel in overnight activity.
No major U.S. government economic reports are scheduled for release Monday due to the Columbus Day holiday.
Major reports during the remainder of the week include retail sales, import prices and business inventories on Wednesday, then the Consumer Price Index, New York Fed manufacturing survey, jobless claims and Philadelphia Fed manufacturing survey Thursday. Reports on Friday include Treasury international capital flows, industrial production and the University of Michigan consumer-sentiment index.
In New York Friday, traders exited long positions to book profits in gold futures ahead of a weekend and in response to a stronger U.S. dollar. December gold closed $7.70 lower at $1,048.60 an ounce, while December silver lost 12.5 cents to $17.69.
Comex gold warehouse stocks were up 9,839 ounces at 9,326,008 ounces Friday, while silver stocks were down 232,349 ounces at 115,926,929 ounces.
