Gold gains on softer dollar ahead of US Fed minutes

"Today's price gains are related to the softening of the U.S. dollar that came after the chairman of the Fed acknowledged in public that in the U.S. is finally starting to move in the right direction," said Ricardo Evangelista, senior analyst at ActivTrades.

A weaker dollar makes bullion more attractive for other holders. [USD/]

Fed Chair Jerome Powell on Tuesday noted that the U.S. central bank still needs more data before cutting interest rates to ensure that recent weaker inflation readings give a true picture of what is happening to underlying price pressures.

Data on Tuesday showed U.S. job openings rose in May after two months of declines, indicating softening conditions potentially prompting Fed interest rate cuts this year.

The market now sees a 65% chance of the Fed cutting interest rates in September as well as another cut in December. Lower rates reduce the opportunity cost of holding non-yielding bullion.

Next in line for investors will be the ADP employment and weekly jobless claims data due later in the day, and the non-farm payrolls report due on Friday.

"There's a clear path for gold to outperform from here, likely fuelled by Western flows. Conversely, in the event that central bank drops drastically, rates remain high for longer and Asian investor sentiment flips, we could see a pullback in the second half," the World Gold Council said in its mid-year outlook report.

Spot silver rose 2.2% to $30.17 per ounce, a more than one-week high.

Platinum climbed 0.7% to $998.25 and palladium gained 1.2% to $1,034.50.