By Anushree Mukherjee
(Reuters) - Gold climbed on Tuesday, trading not too far away from the record peak it hit in the last session, as concerns over rising geopolitical tensions, U.S. election uncertainties and prospects of central banks lowering interest rates boosted demand.
Spot gold rose 0.5% to $2,732.06 per ounce by 1143 GMT and U.S. gold futures gained 0.3% to $2,746.50.
Bullion, considered a hedge against geopolitical and economic uncertainties, hit an all-time high of $2,740.37 on Monday. The non-yielding asset has gained 32% so far this year.
"Uncertainty is the key word at the moment and safe-haven like gold is actually the most important refuge asset possibly in traders' portfolios at the moment," said Ricardo Evangelista, senior analyst at ActivTrades.
"I wouldn't be surprised to see the $2,800 being touched at some point," Evangelista said, adding that rate cuts, purchases from some central banks, geopolitical instability and uncertainty over the outcome of the U.S. presidential election are boosting demand for the metal.
Gold's rally comes despite a firmer U.S. dollar and Treasury yields, and the strength of gold's momentum has outweighed weaker physical demand and higher supply, analysts said. [USD/] [US/]
"The precious metal could keep printing never-before-seen prices as long as markets can keep shrugging off the ongoing rebound in U.S. Treasury yields and the dollar," said Han Tan, chief market analyst at Exinity Group. [USD/]
"Sustained net inflows into bullion-backed ETFs should also preserve the upside momentum in spot gold." [GOL/ETF]
Global physically-backed gold ETFs saw their fifth consecutive monthly inflow in September, attracting $1.4 billion, according to the World Gold Council (WGC).
From the technical point of view, the Relative Strength Index (RSI), currently at 74, suggests that gold prices moved into "overbought" territory. An RSI above 70 indicates a commodity is overbought. [TECH/]
Spot silver rose 1.9% to $34.39 per ounce after hitting its highest since late-2012 in the last session.
"We should see silver cross above $35 before the November 5th polling day, provided the tailwinds for precious metals remain intact," Tan added.
Platinum rose about 1.2% to $1,015.33 per ounce. Palladium added 2% to $1,072.35.