Because the Fed's hawkish tone in keeping interest rates stable fell short of expectationsTaitoegretAnd the Japanese authorities are suspected of intervening to support the yen, causing damage to the dollar and higher gold.

Gold prices rose as high as 2 per ounce in early Asian trading.Taitoegret, 330 U.S. dollars, up 1.5% in the previous session, the biggest one-day increase since mid-April. While Federal Reserve Chairman Colin Powell reiterated the need for more evidence that price rises are cooling before cutting interest rates, Treasury yields fell on Wednesday, boosting gold prices by playing down the possibility of a rate hike.

In global currency markets, the yen rose more than 3 per cent against the dollar, fuelling speculation that Japanese authorities intervened to support the yen for the second time this week. The fall in the dollar's exchange rate has also increased the attractiveness of precious metals to most buyers.

Even though the fed's rate cut schedule has been delayed, gold has risen about 13% so far this year and hit an all-time high last month. The rally of the past two months has been mainly related to strong purchases by central banks, demand from Asian markets, particularly China, and geopolitical conflicts.

As of press time, spot gold rose 0.23% to $2323.61 an ounce, while silver rose 0.29% to $26.73 an ounce. The Bloomberg dollar spot index fell 0.4%.

Palladium prices are lower than platinum, and on Wednesday palladium prices were lower than platinum for the first time since February, as pessimistic demand for fuel vehicles undermined palladium's long-standing premium.