Gold prices rose on Wednesday, to resume gains after pausing yesterday on profit-taking, to jump once again near a 2-week high, while the US dollar fell against a basket of major currencies ahead of the Federal Reserve's monetary policy decisions.

Gold prices rose 0.8% to $1,968.75 an ounce, after opening at $1,953.02, with a session-high of $1,949.83.

The yellow metal closed lower by 0.1% yesterday, posting its first daily gain in 3 days, on profit-taking from a 2-week high of $1,972.16.

The dollar index fell 0.2% today, to resume its losses after taking a breather yesterday, which comes in favor of prices of gold and other dollar-denominated metals, making them cheaper for holders of other currencies.

The greenback came under pressure of growing bets that the Fed will announce extra monetary stimulus to support the US economy from further damages by the coronavirus crisis.

The Federal Open Market Committee is wrapping up its policy meeting today, which expected to maintain rates unchanged at 0.25%. 

The US monetary policy statement and interest rate decision will be unveiled at 18:00 GMT, and Fed Chairman Jerome Powell will deliver a speech at 18:30 GMT.

Investors are in search of cues and insight over the future of the Fed's stimulus plans, as it will be the first appearance of Fed Chair Jerome Powell since he unveiled the US monetary policy historic shift at the Jackson Hole Economic Symposium that is aimed at allowing inflation to run above the Fed’s previous target to support the economic recovery from the coronavirus impact..

Gold stocks at the SPDR ETF fell by 0.43 metric tonnes yesterday, with a total at the lowest level since July 29 of 1,247.57 metric tonnes.

Oil prices surged more than 2% on Wednesday, to extend gains for the second straight day and hit a 1-week high, after the American Petroleum Institute showed in preliminary data a sharp decline in the US crude inventories, and ahead of the US Energy Information Administration's weekly report.

US crude rose 2.6% to $39.39 a barrel, after opening at $38.39, and hit a session-low of $38.38, and Brent rose 2.2% to $41.60, after opening at $40.70, with a low of $40.60. 

US crude gained 2.9% yesterday, and Brent rose 2.5%, after strong data on China's industrial production. 

The American Petroleum Institute (API) revealed yesterday in preliminary data that the US crude inventories fell by about 9.4 million barrels in the week ending September 11, the seventh weekly drop in the last 2 months, beating expectations of a rise by 1.6 million barrels.

The total inventories fell to 496.6 million barrels, the lowest level since the week ending April 10, which is a positive sign on demand and consumption levels in the US.

While the US Energy Information Administration (EIA) will release today the official data on inventories and production levels in its weekly report, with forecasts for inventories to rise 2.1 million barrels.

Euro rose in European trade against a basket of major rivals ahead of the Federal Reserve's policy decisions today. 

EUR/USD rose 0.2% to 1.1872, after closing down 0.15% yesterday, the first loss in five days. 

The dollar index fell 0.2% on Wednesday, resuming the losses after a temporary hiatus. 

The dollar index is pressured by expectations of more stimuli by the Fed today, as it is the first meeting since Chief Jerome Powell's announcement that the Fed will allow higher levels of inflation in order to prop up the economy. 

On the other hand, sentiment remains solid in the market on vaccine hopes and strong Chinese data.

Asian stock indices opened the third session of the week mostly higher with Japan, Australia, New Zealand, and South Korea higher, while China and Hong Kong lost ground, following earlier Asian data and ahead of Federal Reserve's policy decisions today. 

Earlier New Zealand data showed the current account surplus down to 1.83 billion New Zealand dollars from 1.9 billion in the first quarter. 

From Japan, the trade surplus widened to 248.3 billion yen from 11.6 billion in July, while the seasonally-adjusted reading showed a surplus of 0.35 trillion yen, down from 0.04 trillion in July. 

The Federal Reserve is holding its policy meeting today through satellite, expected to maintain rates at near zero while revealing three-year estimates for inflation, unemployment, and growth. 

Japan's TOPEX rose 0.33%, while Nikkei 225 rose 0.14% to 23,487. 

China's CSI 300 inched down 0.22%, while Shanghai lost 0.02% to 3,295. 

Hong Kong's Hang Seng inched down 0.05%, while South Korea's KOSPI rose 0.12% to 2,446. 

New Zealand's NZX 50 rose 0.52%, while Australia's S&P/ASX 200 climbed 0.98% to 5,952.