Gold prices edged higher Wednesday, rebounding after losing ground this week amid heightened uncertainty over U.S. interest rates before a key central bank conference.
At 06:10 ET (10:10 GMT), rose 0.3% to $3,326.09 an ounce and for October gained 0.3% to $3,368.45/oz.
The yellow metal saw limited demand even as sentiment in broader financial markets turned largely risk-off, with Wall Street and global stocks logging steep losses this week.
But traders favored the dollar over gold, especially amid growing uncertainty over whether the Federal Reserve will cut interest rates in September.
Gold also saw limited safe haven demand from uncertainty over the Russia-Ukraine conflict, amid growing conviction that a peace treaty will not be achieved soon.
Gold on backfoot ahead of Jackson Hole
That said, gold remained on the backfoot as anticipation of more cues on U.S. monetary policy spurred some flows into the .
Fed Chair Jerome Powell is set to speak at the on Friday, offering up more insight into the Fed's plans to cut rates.
Ahead of this investors will study the minutes of the Federal Reserve's last meeting, due later in the session.
The Fed has maintained its policy rate in the 4.25%-4.50% range for all of this year, with some policymakers, and Powell in particular, expressing worries that the Trump administration's tariffs could reignite inflation.
However, this stance has resulted in severe criticism from U.S. President Donald Trump, and some Fed officials have recently broken ranks, calling for lower interest rates.
These minutes could show how deep divisions run after Governors Christopher Waller and Michelle Bowman dissented at the last meeting, marking the first time two voting Fed officials have done so since 1993.
Markets are still pricing in an 84% chance the Fed will cut rates by 25 basis points next month, showed.
The dollar firmed, pressuring broader metal markets on Wednesday. rose 0.6% to $1,320.80/oz, while fell 0.7% to $37.083/oz.
Among industrial metals, benchmark on the London Metal Exchange were down 0.1% to $9,687.00 a ton and COMEX slipped slightly to $4.4210 a pound.
Russia-Ukraine talks in focus, near-term peace uncertain
Focus among markets was also on U.S. attempts to broker a peace treaty between Russia and Ukraine, after Trump on Monday pledged security guarantees to Kyiv following a summit with Ukrainian and European leaders.
But it remained unclear what security measures the U.S. will provide, while Russia's agreeing to a ceasefire and peace deal also remained unclear.
Moscow launched a major air assault against Ukraine this week, despite calls from Europe and the U.S. for an end to hostilities.
Trump also conceded that Russian President Vladimir Putin may be unwilling to make a deal.
Trump had flagged the possibility of talks between Putin and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, which could in turn pave the way for trilateral dialogue. But the timing of such a scenario remained vague.
Source: Investing.com (Ambar Warrick contributed to this article)