Gold record rally stalls on higher US dollar, yields

Gold prices held steady on Thursday after scaling an all-time high in the previous session, with a stronger dollar and an uptick in U.S. Treasury yields offseting support from safe-heaven demand.

FUNDAMENTALS

* Spot gold was flat at $2,718.32 per ounce, as of 00:13 GMT. U.S. gold futures were 0.1% higher to $2,732.10.


* Prices hit a record high of $2,758.37 on Wednesday as U.S. election jitters and Middle East tensions boosted the safe-haven appeal of gold.

* Israeli strikes pounded Beirut's southern suburbs on Wednesday and Hezbollah said it fired precision guided missiles for the first time at Israeli targets.

* U.S. Vice President Harris and former President Trump remain neck and neck in the seven most competitive states with less than two weeks to go until the Nov. 5 election.

* Meanwhile, the benchmark 10-year Treasury yields and dollar hovered near a three-month high, hindering gold's record run. A stronger dollar makes gold more expensive for other currency holders. [US/ USD/]

* U.S. economic activity remained steady from September to early October, with a slight rise in hiring, hinting at a likely 25-basis-point Federal Reserve rate cut soon.

* Markets are pricing in an 90.4% chance for a cut of 25 basis points at the U.S. Federal Reserve's November meeting, according to CME's FedWatch Tool.

* Lower rates increase the appeal of non-yielding bullion.

* Elsewhere, China's imports of gold ore and concentrate plummeted in September because of a proposed rule change that could result in a substantial rise in tax liabilities for buyers.

* Spot silver rose 0.2% to $33.80 per ounce, after hitting its highest level since late 2012 at $34.87 on Tuesday.

* Platinum rose 0.6% at $1,022.25 and palladium gained 2.9% to $1,090.50.

DATA/EVENTS (GMT)

0715 France HCOB Mfg, Svcs, Comp Flash PMIs Oct

0730 Germany HCOB Mfg, Svcs, Comp Flash PMIs Oct

0745 France Business Climate Mfg, Overall Oct

0800 EU HCOB Mfg, Svc, Comp Flash PMIs Oct

0830 UK Flash Comp, Mfg, Svcs PMIs Oct

1000 UK CBI Business Optimism Q4

1230 US Initial Jobless Clm Weekly

1345 US S&P Global Mfg, Svcs, Comp Flash PMIs Oct

1400 US New Home Sales-Units Sept