By Anjana Anil
(Reuters) – Gold retreated on Thursday as prices consolidated after hitting a record high, while safe-haven demand ahead of the U.S. presidential election kept the precious metal on track for its fourth straight monthly gain.
Spot gold was down 1.7% at $2,738.69 per ounce by 11:58 a.m. ET (1558 GMT), after hitting a record high of $2,790.15 earlier in the session. Prices have firmed around 4% for the month so far.
U.S. gold futures dipped 1.8% to $2,749.00.
“You’re going to see a bit more consolidation. We have a lot of major impactful news next week. The U.S. election on Tuesday, Fed meeting on Wednesday. So it’s really not surprising to see some traders take profits,” said David Meger, director of metals trading at High Ridge Futures.
Opinion polls show that Republican former U.S. President Donald Trump and Democratic Vice President Kamala Harris are neck and neck in the highly anticipated race to the White House.
Underlying forces spurring demand for gold include geopolitical tensions and uncertainties about the outcome of the election, with the market remaining in a “buy-on-dips” mode, said StoneX analyst Rhona O’Connell.
“Gold and the (U.S.) dollar are acting together as safe havens, which is not unusual in times of strife.” [USD/]
Gold is considered a safe investment during economic and geopolitical turmoil due to its ability to store value.
Data showed the U.S. personal consumption expenditures (PCE) price index increased 0.2% in September after an unrevised 0.1% gain in August. Economists had forecast PCE inflation climbing 0.2%.
Investors now await the payrolls report on Friday, and see a 96% chance of a quarter-basis point U.S. interest rate cut next week, which would further benefit non-yielding gold.
Spot silver fell 3.4% to $32.63 per ounce. It is up around 5% for the month.
Platinum shed 2% to $988.35. Palladium was down 1.9% at $1,125.50, headed for its best month since January 2022.
(Reporting by Anjana Anil and Anushree Mukherjee in Bengaluru; Editing by Vijay Kishore and Shounak Dasgupta)
