WASHINGTON (dpa-AFX) - Gold futures settled modestly higher on Tuesday as the dollar fell ahead of the Federal Reserve's monetary policy announcement due on Thursday. Investors also assessed the possible impact the result of the presidential election will make on the currency.
Persisting concerns about geopolitical tensions also contributed to the yellow metal's upside.
The dollar drifted lower after some polls dented some of the market bets on a victory for Republican Donald Trump. The final NBC News poll of the election indicates the race is neck and neck with Vice President Kamala Harris and former President Donald Trump tied at 49%.
The dollar index dropped to 103.40, down more than 0.45% from the previous close.
Gold futures for November closed up $4.20 or about 0.15% at $2,740.30 an ounce.
Silver futures for November settled at $32.655 an ounce, gaining $0.175 or about 0.54%.
Copper futures for November climbed to $4.4505 per pound, up $0.0435 or nearly 1% from the previous close.
The Fed is widely expected to lower interest rates by another 25 basis points, but traders will be looking to the accompanying statement for clues about the likelihood of future rate cuts.
A report from the Institute for Supply Management showed service sector activity unexpectedly grew at an accelerated rate in the month of October.
The ISM said its services PMI rose to 56.0 in October from 54.9 in September, with a reading above 50 indicating growth. The uptick surprised economists, who had expected the index to dip to 53.8.
With the unexpected increase, the ISM's services PMI reached its highest level since hitting 56.4 in July 2022.
A separate report released by the Commerce Department showed a substantial increase in the size of the U.S. trade deficit in the month of September, as imports surged and exports slumped.
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