Investing.com -- Gold prices slipped lower Thursday, but remained just below record levels as political uncertainty spurred safe haven demand ahead of the week's key economic release.
At 09:20 ET (13:20 GMT), Spot gold fell 0.7% to $2,768.40 an ounce, while gold futures expiring in December fell 0.7% to $2,780.05 an ounce.
The yellow metal hit a series of record highs this week, with spot prices hitting a record high of $2,790.10 an ounce earlier in the session, largely shrugging off a stronger dollar as a broader risk-averse sentiment kept traders largely biased towards havens.
Some concerns over the Middle East conflict also fueled safe haven demand, as did increased political uncertainty in Japan.
Gold heads for bumper Oct amid increased haven demand
Spot prices were headed for an over 5% jump in October, a fourth straight month of gains.
Increased uncertainty over the U.S. election was a key driver of gold’s recent gains, as was sustained expectations of lower U.S. interest rates.
Recent polls showed Donald Trump and Kamala Harris almost neck-and-neck in running for the next president, although prediction markets were more geared towards a Trump victory.
Data released earlier Friday showed an inflation metric closely monitored by the Federal Reserve slowed in the year to September, with the personal consumption expenditures price index decelerating to a 2.1% annual increase during the month, cooling from an upwardly-revised reading of 2.3% in August.
The figure was in line with expectations, while the so-called "core" metric, which strips out more volatile items like food and fuel, came in at 2.7% annually -- faster than expectations of 2.6% and equaling August's pace.
Friday sees the release of the widely-watched monthly nonfarm payrolls data, and this comes just days before a Fed meeting where the central bank is likely to cut interest rates by 25 basis points.
Other precious metals retreated from recent gains on Thursday. Broader metal prices were still pressured by a strong dollar, as signs of resilience in the U.S. economy boosted the greenback.
Platinum futures fell 0.4% to $1,017.50 an ounce, while silver futures fell 1.8% to $33.458 an ounce.
Copper weakens, set for steep Oct losses amid China jitters
Among industrial metals, copper prices edged higher on Thursday, taking limited support from mixed purchasing managers index data from top importer China and the country’s plans for more stimulus.
Concerns over China also saw copper headed for steep losses in October. Benchmark copper futures on the London Metal Exchange rose 0.1% to $9,572.00 a ton, while December copper futures rose 0.4% to $4.3690 a pound. Both contracts were down between 3% and 4% in October.
Chinese PMI data offered little optimism, as manufacturing activity managed to just expand in October. But non-manufacturing activity grew at a slower pace.
A Reuters report showed China planned to roll out $1.4 trillion in more debt over the coming years, aimed largely at shoring up economic growth. Focus is now on a meeting of China’s National People’s Congress next week for more cues on fiscal stimulus.
(Ambar Warrick contributed to this article.)