By Anushree Mukherjee
(Reuters) – Gold prices held steady on Tuesday as market participants braced for the outcome of the U.S. presidential election, with opinion polls suggesting a neck-and-neck race between Democrat candidate Kamala Harris and Republican Donald Trump.
Spot gold was little changed at $2,739.79 an ounce by 1231 GMT, having hit a record high of $2,790.15 last week. U.S. gold futures edged up 0.1% to $2,749.20.
The precious metal should rise if Harris wins, given her policies supporting low interest rates, but a sudden dollar spike could reduce gold’s value if Trump wins, said Exinity Group chief market analyst Han Tan.
Gold should ultimately reach $2,800 “once the dust settles” after the election, he added.
Bullion, traditionally seen as a hedge against economic and political risk, has gained 33% this year.
The metal tends to thrive when interest rates are low, meaning the Fed’s latest rate decision on Thursday will be closely watched, along with remarks from Chair Jerome Powell and other officials.
The CME FedWatch tool shows that markets widely expect a quarter-point cut on Thursday, which would be the reduction to U.S. interest rates this year after a big cut in September.
The Fed meeting is clearly overshadowed by the U.S. elections, however, so is unlikely to have significant impact on the gold price, Commerzbank said in a note.
Spot silver rose 0.3% to $32.58 an ounce, platinum added 1% to $993.40 and palladium was up 0.5% at $1,080.11.
A private sector survey in top metals consumer China showed services activity expanded at its fastest pace in three months in October.
(Reporting by Anushree Mukherjee and Daksh Grover in Bengaluru; Editing by Christina Fincher, Jan Harvey and David Goodman)
