Gold edged lower on Tuesday after equity markets bounced back, hinting investors were turning to riskier assets in a belief that Democrat Hillary Clinton won the first US presidential debate against Republican Donald Trump.
Asian shares recovered from an early bout of nerves while the Mexican peso surged on Tuesday.
"Leading into this event (presidential debate), positioning in the gold market buying wasn't aggressive in either direction, it was fairly neutral. I suspect the move subsequent to the first debate is going to be relatively muted," said ANZ analyst Daniel Hynes.
However, the wave of risk-on trading as a consequence of the US Presidential election could weigh on gold prices in the short-term with a possible break to the upside amid heightened volatility, Hynes added.
Spot gold was down 0.1 per cent at $1,336.61 an ounce by 0727 GMT. By falling on Tuesday, gold snapped a six-day winning streak.
US gold futures eased 0.3 per cent to $1,340.20 an ounce.
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"Flows were overall fairly modest given the amount of coverage this debate had. Gold dipped as expected on the back of Clinton being seen as victorious," said Alex Thorndike, senior precious metals dealer, MKS PAMP Group.
Markets have tended to see Clinton as the candidate of the status quo, while few are sure what a Trump presidency might mean for US foreign policy, trade and the domestic economy.
Analysts said gold could be under pressure if Trump emerged as a winner in the November elections, as the dollar was likely to benefit from the Republican candidate's stance against low interest rates.
"In the long term, if Trump becomes U.S. president, its effect on the dollar would be positive... Trump has always criticised the Fed for easing the monetary policy," said Jiang Shu, chief analyst at Shandong Gold Group.
Meanwhile, the dollar index, which weighs the greenback against a basket of other currencies, was steady at 95.276.
Among other precious metals, silver edged 0.5 per cent higher to $19.52 an ounce after falling 1.2 per cent in the previous session, its biggest loss in over two weeks.
Platinum was up 0.9 per cent at $1,044.90 after falling 1.4 per cent in the prior day.
Palladium gained 1.2 per cent to $701.20 per ounce. It was down 1 per cent on Monday, the biggest fall in two weeks.