WASHINGTON (dpa-AFX) - Gold inched up slightly toward $2,400 per ounce on Wednesday due to dovish Fed expectations and increased tensions in the Middle East.
Spot gold edged up 0.2 percent to $2,394.77 per ounce while U.S. gold futures were up 0.1 percent at $2,434.20.
The yen slipped from a seven-month high, while the dollar and Treasury yields edged higher as markets scaled back wagers on an intra-meeting emergency rate cut from the Federal Reserve.
A sense of calm returned to financial markets and Treasury yields rebounded after Federal Reserve officials reassured investors that the U.S. is not headed for a recession.
Traders are currently pricing in a half-point September cut, followed by aggressive easing that could lop 2.25 percentage points off the Fed's short-term borrowing rate by the end of next year.
Elsewhere, the Bank of Japan played down the chances of a near-term rate hike, triggering a sharp fall in the yen.
On the geopolitical front, traders braced for a possible new wave of attacks by Iran and its allies following last week's killing of senior members of fighter groups Hamas and Hezbollah.
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