Gold climbs ahead of US jobs data, with election looming large

Spot gold rose 0.3% to $2 752.90 an ounce as of 11:34 a.m. in London, after reaching an all-time high of $2 790.10 earlier in the week.

Gold rebounded from its biggest one-day drop since July, as traders waited for key US jobs data and weighed potential market disruption ahead of the looming presidential election.

Bullion climbed as much as 0.5%, putting the precious metal on track for a small weekly gain. Payroll figures due later on Friday may offer further clues on the Federal Reserve’s easing trajectory, after markets slashed bets on aggressive interest-rate cuts on Thursday following an unexpected drop in new jobless claims and a pick-up in underlying inflation. Higher rates tend to weigh on gold, which doesn’t pay interest.

Traders continue to price in a roughly 90% chance of a quarter-point cut at the US central bank’s next policy meeting on November 6-7.

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Gold is still up about a third this year, supported by central-bank buying and haven demand amid conflicts in the Middle East and Ukraine. Uncertainty over next week’s neck-and-neck US presidential election has added to the precious metal’s appeal.

Spot gold rose 0.3% to $2 752.90 an ounce as of 11:34 a.m. in London, after reaching an all-time high of $2 790.10 earlier in the week. The Bloomberg Dollar Spot Index was up 0.1%. Silver and palladium climbed, while platinum was little changed.

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