Gold prices held steady on Tuesday as market participants braced for the outcome of a knife-edge U.S. presidential election and a Federal Reserve policy verdict this week.

Spot gold was steady at $2,739.00 per ounce by 0845 GMT, having hit a record high of $2,790.15 last week.

U.S. gold futures edged up 0.1% to $2,748.70.

Opinion polls suggest a neck-to-neck race between Democratic candidate Kamala Harris and Republican Donald Trump, casting a cloud of uncertainty over the outcome of the U.S. presidential election.

"Gold traders and investors are likely to withhold their responses until early signals emanate from the U.S. presidential race," said Han Tan, chief market analyst at Exinity Group.

Gold should rise if Harris wins, due to her policies supporting low interest rates, but a sudden dollar spike could reduce gold's value if Trump wins, Tan said.

Gold should ultimately claim the $2,800 handle "once the dust settles" after the U.S. election, Tan added.

Bullion, traditionally seen as a hedge against economic and political risks, has gained 33% so far this year. It also tends to thrive in a low-interest-rate environment.

The Fed's interest rate decision is due on Thursday, along with remarks from Chair Jerome Powell and other officials.

According to the CME FedWatch tool, markets widely expect a quarter-point cut on Thursday, which would be the second U.S. rate reduction of the year after a jumbo cut in September.

"With that fully priced in by markets, the largely expected move may potentially draw little reaction from gold prices, with focus to revolve around policymakers' forward guidance instead," said IG market strategist Yeap Jun Rong.

Spot silver rose 0.4% to $32.59 per ounce, platinum added 0.9% to $992.45 and palladium was up by 0.9% to $1,084.18.

A private sector survey in top metals consumer China showed services activity expanded at the fastest pace in three months in October.

(Reporting by Anushree Mukherjee and Daksh Grover in Bengaluru; editing by Christina Fincher)