WASHINGTON (dpa-AFX) - Gold futures ended higher on Wednesday, after posting losses in the previous three sessions, as investors picked up the yellow metal amid rate cut hopes and geopolitical concerns.
Markets 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.
Meanwhile, the Bank of Japan played down the chances of a near-term rate hike, triggering a sharp fall in the yen.
Bank of Japan Deputy Governor Uchida Shinichi said that the Japanese central bank won't raise interest rates when financial markets are volatile.
A firm dollar limited the yellow metal's upside. The dollar index climbed to 103.37 in the Asian session, and despite paring some gains subsequently, was up at 103.20 a little while ago, about 0.23% up from previous close.
Gold futures for August ended higher by $1.40 at $2,390.50 an ounce.
Silver futures for August ended down $$0.266 or nearly 1% at $26.830 an ounce, while Copper futures for August dropped to $3.9280 per pound, losing $0.0835.
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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