Gold steady ahead of U.S. presidential election

REUTERS - Gold steadied early Tuesday along with the dollar, after dropping nearly 2 percent in the previous session, as uncertainty just hours ahead of the U.S. presidential election kept wary investors locked into the safe-haven commodity.

FUNDAMENTALS

* Spot gold was up 0.08 percent at $1,282.30 an ounce at 0100 GMT. The metal hit a low of $1,277.70 in the previous session.

* U.S. gold futures were up 0.27 percent to $1,282.80 per ounce.

* Uncertainty ahead of Tuesday's U.S. presidential election and a possible U.S. interest rate hike in December have boosted demand for gold and silver in the United States, dealers said.

* The dollar steadied in Asia on Tuesday, keeping gains made in the previous session on the growing prospect of a victory for U.S. Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton after the FBI cleared her of any possibility of criminal charges in its latest probe.

* With hours to go before Americans vote, Democrat Hillary Clinton has about a 90 percent chance of defeating Republican Donald Trump in the race for the White House, according to the final Reuters/Ipsos States of the Nation project.

* Investor sentiment in the euro zone improved further in November, reaching its highest level for the year and easing pressure for further stimulus measures by the European Central Bank, a survey showed on Monday.

* A majority of Bank of Japan policymakers believe it could take time for inflation expectations to firm, underscoring lingering doubts on how effective the BOJ's new policy framework would be in achieving its ambitious 2 percent inflation target.

* China's gold reserves rose to 59.24 million fine troy ounces (oz) at the end of October, up from 59.11 million a month earlier, the central bank said on Monday.

(Reporting by Apeksha Nair in Bengaluru; Editing by Kenneth Maxwell)