Bullion Tumbles With Haven Assets as FBI Hands Clinton a Boost

(Bloomberg) -- Gold tumbled, joining a slide in other haven assets, after the Federal Bureau of Investigation said it maintains the view that Hillary Clinton's handling of her e-mails wasn't a crime, boosting the Democrat in the final stretch of the U.S. presidential election campaign.

Bullion for immediate delivery lost as much 1.3 percent to $1,288.11 an ounce and traded at $1,291.41 at 8:13 a.m. in Singapore. Last week, the metal surged 2.3 percent amid concern Republican Donald Trump may capture the White House, with Citigroup Inc. predicting a rally to $1,400 if he were to win.

Bullion prices have traded in recent weeks as a barometer of Trump's chances of winning the contest even as investors also track U.S. data to gauge the likelihood of higher interest rates. The FBI is sticking to its conclusion that Clinton's handling of her e-mails as secretary of state wasn't a crime, the bureau's director, James Comey, said in a letter. On Oct. 28. Comey had said the FBI was examining new e-mails, roiling the election race and lifting gold.

Gold fell on Monday in Asia together with the yen and the Swiss franc, while equities and equity futures rose, as investors recalibrated their expectations of the race after the FBI's second intervention. U.S. electors head to the polls on Tuesday, although millions of early votes have already been cast.

Adding to the headwinds for bullion, the Labor Department on Friday reported that the unemployment rate fell while hourly earnings edged higher, boosting the outlook for a rate rise. Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta President Dennis Lockhart signaled the central bank is on track to raise rates next month, provided nothing intervenes to give policy makers pause.

To contact the reporter on this story: Jasmine Ng in Singapore at jng299@bloomberg.net. To contact the editors responsible for this story: Jason Rogers at jrogers73@bloomberg.net, Jake Lloyd-Smith