Gold inched higher early Wednesday as traders awaited the minutes of the Federal Reserve`s June policy meeting. Palladium rallied for the 13th session amid the aftermath of a miners` strike in South Africa.
Investors will be closely watching the minutes, due today at 18:00 GMT, from the Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC)`s June 17-18 meeting, when policymakers cut monthly asset purchases by $10 billion for the fifth meeting in a row.
The FOMC minutes will offer new details on the debate underway at the Fed, including assessments of the jobs and inflation outlooks and the timing of stimulus withdrawal.
Meanwhile, the lingering tension in Ukraine and Iraq continued to boost gold`s safe-haven appeal.
Gold prices even got a boost after SPDR Gold Trust, the world`s largest gold-backed exchange-trade fund, saw another inflow of about 2.09 tons to 800.28 tons on Tuesday, comparing with a 1.8 ton-inflow on Monday.
More on the precious metals, platinum drew support from the five-month long strike in major producer South Africa amid worries of dwindling supply from the world`s largest producer of platinum and its second-largest palladium producer.
Strong demand for the metal from the auto industry also boosted prices.
Palladium extended gains to trade near its highest since 2001. Although the South-Africa strike ended last month, there are lingering supply concerns in the market.
Last week, a report showed that US auto sales hit an eight-year high in June.
Prices as of 03:31 a.m. ET: