Investing.com-- Gold prices fell slightly in Asian trade on Friday, remaining in sight of record highs hit earlier this week as anticipation of a tight U.S. presidential election kept traders biased towards safe havens.While the yellow metal did notch new highs, it struggled to hold its peaks amid pressure from a stronger dollar and higher Treasury yields. Still, gold was set for mild weekly gains in its third consecutive week of gains. Safe haven demand was also boosted by persistent concerns over worsening geopolitical conditions in the Middle East.  Spot gold fell 0.4% to $2,724.55 an ounce, while gold futures expiring in December fell 0.4% to $2,737.05 an ounce by 00:30 ET (04:30 GMT). Spot gold was set to rise about 0.2% this week after hitting a record high of $2,758.53 an ounce. Election, M.East jitters keep gold underpinned. Safe haven demand for gold was buoyed by uncertainty over the U.S. election, with less than two weeks left to the ballot.Republican nominee Donald Trump was seen gaining an edge over Vice President Kamala Harris, according to recent polls and prediction markets. But with the race still too tight to call, markets remained largely risk-averse, fueling demand for gold.Increased tensions in the Middle East also dented risk appetite, after Israel presented a harsh rhetoric against Iran this week. Markets are awaiting a retaliatory strike by Israel against Tehran over an early-October attack.A particular point of concern is that Israel will attack Iran’s oil and nuclear facilities, which could mark a dire escalation in the conflict.