Gold ralied as FOMC and US elections draw near

Uncertainties always make gold appealing. The course of trading in the second part of the day was influenced by US data. US October ISM registered 51.9 percent, an increase of 0.4 percentage point from the September reading of 51.5 percent. The New Orders Index registered 52.1 percent, a decrease of 3 percentage points from the September reading of 55.1 percent. The Production Index registered 54.6 percent, 1.8 percentage points higher than the September reading of 52.8 percent.

Economic optimism index in the US, calculated by the newspaper Investor's Business Daily and research firm TechnoMetrica Institute of Policy and Politics, rose in November by 0.1 points, or 0.2%, reaching 51.4 points. Analysts expect that figure to drop to 48.7 points. The index value above 50 indicates optimism, while below 50, pessimism. Now the index is 3.9 points higher than the 12-month average (47.5) and 7.0 points higher than in December 2007, when the economy has entered a recession. The average value of the index on record is 49.0 points.

Traders were cautious ahead of Wednesday's interest rate decision from the Federal Reserve.

The Fed is expected to keep interest rates on hold while hinting at a December rate hike.

Gold futures trading up almost 15$ to $1289.