Nov 24 (Reuters) - Britain's FTSE 100 index is seen opening lower on Friday, with futures down 0.23%.
* BARCLAYS: Barclays is working on plans to save as much as 1 billion pounds ($1.25 billion), which could involve cutting as many as 2,000 jobs, mainly in the British bank's back office, a person with direct knowledge of the proposals told Reuters.
* UK CONSUMER: British consumers have turned more optimistic about the outlook for the economy and their personal finances this month but their mood remains a long way off pre-COVID levels, market research firm GfK said.
* UK BUSINESS: British companies reported a marginal return to growth in November after three months of contraction but the downturn in orders continued in the face of higher interest rates and weak demand, a survey showed.
* GOLD: Gold held steady, set for its second consecutive weekly gain, supported by a weaker U.S. dollar as markets grew confident that the Federal Reserve was done with its interest rate hikes.
* BRENT CRUDE: Brent crude futures edged down on Friday, extending losses from the previous session, as traders speculated on whether OPEC+ would come to an agreement on further production cuts.
* METAL: Copper prices in London were steady, heading for a second consecutive weekly gain, as China's efforts to boost its economy and property sector sparked demand optimism in the world's top metal consumer.
* FTSE 100: The UK's FTSE 100 closed higher on Thursday as energy stocks gained, while investors parsed more economic data to gauge the state of the economy a day after Finance Minister Jeremy Hunt announced an interim budget.
* For more on the factors affecting European stocks, please click on:
TODAY'S UK PAPERS
> Financial Times
> Other business headlines (Reporting by Eva Mathews in Bengaluru)
