Investing.com - Gold drifted higher on Thursday in Asia in cautious trade as investors looked ahead to the final of three U.S. presidential debates that may throw up some insights on economic policy plans by contenders Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton.
Gold for December delivery on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange rose 0.06% to $1,270.65 a troy ounce.
Elsewhere in metal trading, silver futures for December delivery gained 0.25% to $17.707 a troy ounce and copper futures were flat at $2.103 a pound.
Overnight, gold prices held onto solid gains on Wednesday as a batch of mixed data on the U.S. housing market kept up pressure on the dollar.
U.S. housing starts fell to a one-and-a-half year low in September, but a jump in the construction of single-family homes pointed to underlying strength in the housing market.
The Commerce Department said U.S. housing starts unexpectedly slumped 9.0% to hit 1.047 million units last month. That compared to forecasts for an increase of 2.5%.
However, single-family home building, which comprises the largest share of the residential housing market, jumped 8.1% in September, the most since February, pointing to sustained strength in the housing market.
The number of building permits issued rose 6.3% to 1.225 million units last month, up from 1.152 million in August.
The dollar has come under pressure in recent sessions amid speculation over whether the world's largest economy is strong enough to withstand an increase in borrowing costs before the end of the year.
Markets are currently pricing in around a 69.5% chance of a rate hike at December's meeting, according to Investing.com's Fed Rate Monitor Tool.
On Monday, Fed Vice Chair Stanley Fischer said the U.S. central bank is "very close" to its employment and inflation targets, while Boston Fed President Eric Rosengren said the current levels of jobs and inflation support the case for a rate increase soon.
Gold is sensitive to moves in U.S. rates, which lift the opportunity cost of holding non-yielding assets such as bullion.