Gold prices rose on Wednesday, extending gains for the second straight day, rising above the $1800 barrier, as the US dollar fell against a majority of rivals, and ahead of the Federal Reserve’s decisions.

Gold prices rose 0.5% to $1,807.38 an ounce, after opening at $1,798.23, and hit a low at $1,797.97.

Gold closed higher by 0.1% yesterday, within recovery from a 2-week low at $1,789.68 an ounce.

The dollar index fell 0.1% today, to head for the third straight loss against a majority of rivals, which lifts demand for dollar-denominated metal prices. 

The greenback is falling due to risk aversion ahead of the Federal Reserve’s decisions.

The Federal Open Market Committee will decide today on the monetary policy, expected to maintain rates at near zero, the and the assets purchases program at $120 billion.

At 18:00 GMT, the Federal Reserve's interest decision will be released, and Fed Chair Jerome Powell will deliver a speech at 18:30 GMT.

Gold stocks at the SPDR ETF remained unchanged yesterday, with the total at the lowest level since May 13 at 1,025.64 metric tonnes.

Oil prices rose on Wednesday, resuming gains after taking a pause yesterday, following a large drop in the US crude inventories according to the API's preliminary data, and ahead of the EIA's official report.

US crude rose 1.0% to the highest since July 15 at $72.57 a barrel, after opening at $71.88, and hit a low at $71.84, and Brent crude rose 0.75% to $75.28 a barrel, after opening at $74.73, and hit a low at $74.60.

 The US crude lost 0.4% yesterday, and Brent crude fell 0.3%, in the first daily loss in 5 days, due to global demand concerns.

The American Petroleum Institute reported 4.7 in preliminary data that the US crude inventories fell 7.98 million barrels during the week ending July 23, while analysts forecast a drop by 2.5 million barrels.

The total US commercial inventories fell to 441.4 million barrels, which is the lowest level since the week ending February 7, 2020, in a positive sign of the US domestic demand.

The US Energy Information Administration's official data will be released later today, amid forecasts for inventories to drop by 2.6 million barrels.

USD/JPY tilted higher in Asian trade off July 20 lows for the second session following data from Japan and ahead of US data and policy decisions by the Federal Open Market Committee. 

As of 07:07 GMT, USD/JPY rose 0.04% to 109.81, with an intraday high at 109.91, and a low at 109.73. 

Bank of Japan released the minutes of the July 15-16 meeting, noting that policymakers are putting high priority on having a climate plan, and continue to monitor economic risks from the pandemic. 

From the US, the goods trade balance is expected to show a deficit of $88 billion in June, compared to $88.1 billion in May, while wholesale inventories are expected up 1.2%. 

The Federal Open Market Committee will decide today on the monetary policy, expected to maintain rates at near zero, the and the assets purchases program at $120 billion.

The American Petroleum Institute reported today in preliminary data that the US crude inventories fell 4.7 million barrels during the past week, while analysts forecaste a drop by 2.5 million barrels.

Gasoline stocks fell 6.2 million barrels, and the distillate stocks fell 1.9 million barrels.

While the Energy Information Administration will release its official report on Wednesday, which affects price movements more.