By Anjana Anil
(Reuters) – Gold prices fell over 1% after hitting a record high on Wednesday, as a stronger dollar and a rise in U.S. Treasury yields countered support from safe-haven demand linked to the Nov. 5 U.S. election and Middle East war.
Spot gold was down 1.2% to $2,714.55 per ounce as of 01:43 p.m. EDT (1743 GMT) after hitting a record high of $2,758.37 earlier in the session.
U.S. gold futures settled 1.1% lower at $2,729.40.
Bullion, considered a hedge against political and economic uncertainty, has climbed more than 31% this year, shattering multiple record peaks as the Federal Reserve’s interest rate cut last month combined with safe-haven demand set up a perfect storm for the precious metal.
“There is some profit-taking and Treasury yields are going up, gold’s going to have a hard time moving higher given where yields are headed,” said Bob Haberkorn, senior market strategist at RJO Futures.
However, gold could see the $2,800/oz level by the week’s end on safe-haven demand, Haberkorn added.
The dollar index rose 0.4% to near a three-month high, making gold less appealing for other currency holders, while U.S. bond yields climbed to a three-month high. [USD/][US/]
“It’s the uncertainty related to the U.S. election and rising debt burden in the U.S. They have to issue billions of dollars of debt as well just ahead of the election into a relatively thin and nervous market,” said Ole Hansen, head of commodity strategy at Saxo Bank.
With the U.S. presidential election less than two weeks away, Vice President Kamala Harris holds a marginal 46% to 43% lead over Republican former President Donald Trump, according to a Reuters/Ipsos poll.
Spot silver fell 3.6% to $33.58 per ounce after hitting its highest price since late 2012 at $34.87 on Tuesday.
“The gold/silver ratio, currently standing at around 80, means silver tends to benefit as a natural consequence of gold’s push into new territory on the upside,” Kinesis Money said in a note.
Platinum fell 1.8% to $1,018.25 and palladium dropped 1.8% to $1,056.75.
(Reporting by Anjana Anil and Anushree Mukherjee in Bengaluru; Editing by Paul Simao, Alexandra Hudson and Vijay Kishore)
