Gold touches new record high, nears $3,000/ounce

Gold bars

Gold prices gained ground today, Oct. 30, touching a new record high as the US presidential election approaches, and amid heightened geopolitical uncertainty due to the Middle East woes.

December gold futures prices added 0.62%, or $17.30, to $2,798.4 per ounce at 09:30 am Makkah time, after the most active contracts ended Tuesday's trading at a fresh record of $2,781.10 an ounce.

Further, spot prices continued to notch new all-time highs, climbing by 0.42% to $2,786.37 per ounce after hitting $2,772.42 during yesterday's session.

Silver futures for December delivery, likewise, rose slightly by 0.1% to $31.47 an ounce, while platinum spot prices stabilized at $1,050.75 apiece.

The precious metal's performance has recently rebounded against the backdrop of the US presidential elections on Nov. 5, amid a state of internal polarization and the convergence of the chances of victory for the most prominent candidates, Donald Trump and Kamala Harris.

This is besides the ongoing geopolitical tensions in the Middle East that have been extending for more than a year. Not to mention the Russia-Ukraine war, which is driving investors to resort to safe havens such as gold.

All eyes are on the release of several key US economic data later this week. This includes the third-quarter reading of the gross domestic product, along with today's private-sector employment data.

This is in addition to the Personal Consumption Expenditures Price Index, the Fed’s preferred inflation gauge, with the unemployment claims due tomorrow and the monthly jobs report from the Department of Labor coming on Friday.