Gold jumped nearly 5 percent on Wednesday to its strongest in six weeks as investors sought safe havens after Republican Donald Trump moved to the brink of winning the White House, setting world markets on edge. It marked gold's biggest single-day gain since June 24 when it rose as much as 8 percent when Britain decided to leave the European Union. It closed up 4.8 percent that day.
A Trump win, which many expect could lead to economic and global uncertainty, may also push the US Federal Reserve to hold off from raising interest rates next month, further burnishing gold's draw, analysts say. Spot gold rose as much as 4.9 percent to $1,337.40 an ounce, its strongest since September 27, and was up 3.5 percent at $1,319 by 0704 GMT.
"A Trump presidency means a long period of uncertainty, in which every statement of the president-elect will have tremendous effect on the markets," said Joshua Rotbart, managing partner at Hong Kong-based bullion services provider J. Rotbart & Co US gold for December delivery was last up 3.5 percent at $1,319.40 an ounce.