Investing.com - Gold prices fell in early Asia on Wednesday as attention was squarely focused on U.S. election results with China prices data ahead noted as well.
The first U.S. exit polls, which are a projection, are expected to come out on Tuesday night at around 7:00PM ET (00:00 GMT on Wednesday). Results will be declared state by state. If the outcome is clear, the television networks are expected to make their official call at 11:00PM ET (04:00 GMT Wednesday).
Gold for December delivery on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange eased 0.43% to $1,270.95 a troy ounce. Also on the Comex, silver futures for December delivery dropped 0.48% to $18.282 a troy ounce. while copper futures were quoted flat at $2.377 a pound.
In China, CPI figures for October are seen up 2.1% year-on-year with month--on-month data last up 0.7%. PPI figures are expected to show a 0.8% gain year-on-year.
Overnight, gold prices held steady in a narrow range during North American hours on Tuesday, as investors adopted a wait-and-see approach before U.S. voters head to the polls to elect a new president.
Global financial markets were rattled last week by signs the U.S. presidential election race between Democrat candidate Hillary Clinton and Republican nominee Donald Trump was tightening.
However, hopes for a Clinton win mounted after FBI Director James Comey informed Congress over the weekend that it had "not changed its conclusions" on the private email server maintained by the Democratic candidate
According to the final Reuters/Ipsos States of the Nation project, Democrat Hillary Clinton has about a 90% chance of defeating Republican Donald Trump in the race for the White House.
Market players have tended to see Clinton as the candidate of the status quo, while there is greater uncertainty over what a Trump victory might mean for U.S. foreign policy, international trade deals and the domestic economy.