Investing.com - Gold prices rose towards a fresh four-week high during Europe's session on Tuesday, as investors waited for the outcome of the Federal Reserve's policy meeting, while monitoring increased uncertainty over the upcoming U.S. presidential election.
Gold for December delivery on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange tacked on $7.15, or 0.56%, to $1,280.25 a troy ounce by 3:50AM ET (07:50GMT), within sight of last Friday's four-week high of $1,285.40.
The U.S. central bank is expected to keep interest rates unchanged at the conclusion of its two-day policy meeting on Wednesday but set the stage for a hike in December amid signs the economy is picking up steam.
Traders are currently pricing in a less than 10% chance of a rate hike this week, according to Investing.com's Fed Rate Monitor Tool. For December, odds stood at around 78%.
Meanwhile, investors continued to digest news of further investigation into Democrat Hillary Clinton's email issues by the FBI.
Markets were rattled by news last Friday that the FBI is planning to review more emails related to Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton's private server, just over a week before the election.
The revelation could damage the chances of the Democrat candidate, fueling worries about a surprise election outcome.
The U.S. dollar index, which measures the greenback’s strength against a trade-weighted basket of six major currencies, was little changed at 98.32 early Tuesday, moving away from last week's nine-month peak of 99.09.
Also on the Comex, silver futures for December delivery rose 17.7 cents, or 0.99%, to $17.97 a troy ounce during morning hours in London, while copper futures rallied 1.1 cents, or 0.5%, to $2.216 a pound.
Activity in China's manufacturing sector expanded at a faster pace than expected in October, two separate surveys showed on Tuesday, adding to views the world's second-largest economy is stabilizing.
China's official manufacturing purchasing managers index increased to 51.2 in October from September's 50.4, the National Bureau of Statistics said. The private Caixin survey also hit 51.2, showing the fastest rate of improvement since March 2011.