NEW YORK (Dow Jones)—December gold futures are expected to open floor trading in New York around $2 an ounce higher Friday, 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 up about 18 cents an ounce. In overnight activity, spot gold edged higher Friday as the dollar eased to a 14-month low against the euro and equity markets rose. Reports that Russia is planning to sell 45 metric tons of gold failed to dent sentiment, as traders remained skeptical about the plan and fixated instead on the dollar's direction. In recent trading, spot gold was up $1.35 at $1,060.75. The euro was near steady at $1.5034 in screen trading ahead of the pit open, the December S&P 500 futures were up 1.2 points. December crude was up 11 cents in overnight activity. U.S. economic reports on Friday include existing home sales at 10 a.m. EDT (1400 GMT) with total sales expected up 5.5% at 5.38 million In New York on Thursday, gold futures faltered Thursday as the U.S. dollar gained ground, in a continuation of the recent strong inverse relationship between gold and the greenback. December gold fell $5.90 to settle at $1,058.60. December silver lost 28 cents to settle at $17.545. Comex gold warehouse stocks were up 3,743 ounces at 9,406,694 ounces Thursday, while silver stocks were down 524,833 ounces at 114,685,437 ounces.

Source