Gold rallied to a one-month high on Wednesday, as uncertainty over the outcome of the US election knocked stocks and the dollar lower, but bullion pared gains slightly after the Federal Reserve held interest rates steady as expected.
Following a two-day meeting, the Fed signalled it could hike rates in December as the economy gathers momentum and inflation picks up. Two policymakers dissented in the decision in favour of an immediate hike, down from three in September.
Spot gold rose to $1,307.76 an ounce, its highest since October 4, and was up 1.05 percent at $1,301.36 by 3:05 p.m. EDT (1905 GMT). US gold futures for December delivery
settled up 1.6 percent at $1,308.20 per ounce.
"The Fed, as expected, gave the election wide berth providing a modestly more hawkish statement which may have mollified Boston Fed President Rosengren enough to prevent a second consecutive dissent," said Tai Wong, director of base and precious metals trading for BMO Capital Markets in New York.
"Gold and silver are marginally off their highs after recent sharp gains as the Fed refrains from further inflaming electoral anxiety." The world's largest gold-backed exchange-traded fund, New York's SPDR Gold Shares, reported its first inflow in just over a week on Tuesday.
Among other precious metals, silver was up 1.4 percent at $18.58 an ounce, after reaching $18.74, its highest since October 4.
Platinum was up 0.4 percent at $994, after climbing to a one-month high at $1,001.80. Palladium was down 0.8 pct at $626.97.