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ZURICH, Oct 31 (Reuters) - The Swiss National Bank

posted a profit of 5.67 billion Swiss francs ($6.55 billion) during the third quarter, it said on Thursday, helped by a big rise in the value of gold.

The SNB made a profit of 4.41 billion francs from its gold holdings, as concerns about the global political situation raised the value of its 1,040 tonnes.

Bullion, considered a hedge against political and economic uncertainty, has climbed

more than 31%

this year, shattering multiple record peaks as the U.S. Federal Reserve's interest rate cut last month combined with safe-haven demand set up a perfect storm for the precious metal.

Uncertainties about the upcoming U.S. presidential election and rising debt in the United States have driven gold demand this year.

The SNB also made a big profit from the more than 700 billion francs it holds in foreign currency holdings.

During the third quarter the SNB posted a profit of 3.08 billion francs from its foreign currency holdings, helped by buoyant stock markets that increased the value of its shares in companies like Apple and AI chip maker Nvidia .

The third-quarter profit contrasted with a 12 billion Swiss franc loss a year earlier. As a result, the SNB's nine-month profit rose to 62.5 billion francs, up from 1.69 billion francs in the first nine months of 2023.

($1 = 0.8652 Swiss francs)

(Reporting by John Revill Editing by Kirsti Knolle and Miranda Murray)

((John.Revill@thomsonreuters.com; +41 41 528 36 37; Reuters Messaging: john.revill.thomsonreuters.com@reuters.net))