Gold falls on profit taking after record rally

LONDON, Oct 25 (Reuters): Gold prices fell on Friday as some investors booked profit after a recent rally that pushed bullion to a record high, although ongoing tensions in the Middle East helped limit the decline.

Spot gold eased 0.4 per cent to $2,724.50 per ounce by 1159 GMT. Prices had hit an all-time high of $2,758.37 on Wednesday.

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said on Friday there was a real sense of urgency in getting to a diplomatic resolution to end the conflict in Lebanon between Israel and Hezbollah, while calling for the protection of civilians.

Approaching US Nov. 5 presidential election, for which opinion polls show the race to the White House remains tight, are focusing attention on the economic, financial and geopolitical risks ahead.

Next week, investors in non-yielding gold will be focused on the US inflation and economic growth data for clues about the health of the economy which may increase volatility in precious metals, said Adrian Ash, head of research at BullionVault.

"But going into the knife-edge election, any dips in gold are being bought and remain shallow," he added.

Spot gold is up 32 per cent so far this year. According to LSEG Workspace data, this is going to be gold's largest annual growth since 1979 if it stays near these levels.

The precious metal's rally has, however, dented demand in the price-sensitive Asian physical markets with discounts rising in China and consumers in India buying less in volume terms.

Meanwhile, spot palladium touched $1,168 per ounce, hitting its ten-month high for the second consecutive day, amid concerns about exports from Russia, where Nornickel's production accounts for 40 per cent of global mined output. It was last up 0.2 per cent at $1,158.79.

Palladium rose 9 per cent on Thursday after Bloomberg News reported that the US asked the Group of Seven allies to consider sanctions on Russian palladium and titanium, which triggered coverage of some short positions in palladium futures.