Gold flat ahead of US election and Fed meeting

GOLD was little changed on Tuesday (Nov 5) as investors refrained from taking big bets ahead of the US presidential election, with the Federal Reserve policy meeting due later this week also in focus.

Spot gold was flat at US$2,734.71 per ounce, as at 0013 GMT. Bullion hit a record high of US$2,790.15 on Thursday.

US gold futures edged lower by 0.1 per cent to US$2,743.40.

Democratic candidate Kamala Harris and Republican candidate Donald Trump are nearly tied in opinion polls, leaving the outcome of the US presidential race uncertain and potentially unconfirmed for days after voting ends.

Meanwhile, both Trump and Harris predicted victory as they campaigned across Pennsylvania on Monday in the final, frantic day of an exceptionally close US presidential election.

Another risk event in focus this week is the Fed’s decision on interest rates, coupled with comments from chair Jerome Powell and other Fed officials.

Traders have fully priced in a Fed rate cut for this week, with nearly a 100 per cent chance of a 25 basis point reduction, according to the CME FedWatch tool.

Bullion is considered a hedge against geopolitical and economic uncertainties and tends to thrive in a low-interest-rate environment.

On the geopolitical front, Israel has terminated a longstanding cooperation agreement with the UN Palestinian relief agency that covered its protection, movement, and diplomatic immunity in Israel, the West Bank, and Gaza.

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Gold steadies as investors brace for US election and potential rate cuts

Elsewhere, Brazilian authorities are preparing to remove illegal gold miners from an Indigenous reservation in the Amazon, which has been plagued by informal airstrips and mercury contamination.

Spot silver fell 0.3 per cent to US$32.36 per ounce, platinum shed 0.3 per cent to US$980.81 and palladium was down 0.3 per cent to US$1,071.14 REUTERS