Gold falls as dollar firms ahead of U.S. election

Gold edged lower on Monday weighed down by a stronger dollar, while investors awaited the outcome of Tuesday's hotly contested U.S presidential election.

FUNDAMENTALS
Spot gold fell 0.2% to $1,873.87 per ounce by 0047 GMT.


U.S. gold futures were down 0.3% at $1,875.00 per ounce.

The dollar index was 0.1% higher against a basket of currencies, lowering gold's appeal to other currency holders.

With two days to go, Democrat Joe Biden holds a commanding national lead over President Donald Trump, but Trump has stayed competitive in the swing states that could decide the White House race.

U.S. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell on Friday said that any new coronavirus aid package should be considered in early 2021, possibly closing the door to such legislation shortly following Tuesday's election.

Europe's new COVID-19 cases have doubled in five weeks, propelling the region on Sunday to cross the milestone of 10 million total infections, prompting countries such as Britain and Portugal to enact fresh lockdowns.

Speculators cut their net long position by 3,702 contracts to 131,609 in COMEX gold in the week to October 27, the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) said on Friday.

Holdings in the SPDR Gold Trust , the world's largest gold-backed exchange-traded fund, fell 0.1% to 1,257.67 tonnes on Friday.

Silver fell 0.9% to $23.41 an ounce. Platinum dropped 1.5% to $836.37 and palladium gained 0.2% to $2,216.05.