The dollar weakens, driving up gold prices and increasing demand for safe-haven assets; awaiting Fed minutes.

On Wednesday, gold prices increased for the sixth consecutive day due to a weaker dollar and safe-haven demand, before the release of the U.S. central bank's policy meeting minutes.

Its highest since Feb. 9, the price of gold rose 0.4% to $2,030.7 per ounce, as of 0411 GMT.

edged 0.1% higher to $2,041.3 per ounce.

The third consecutive day of losses for the greenback-priced bullion has made it more attractive to overseas buyers.

According to Jigar Trivedi, a senior analyst at Reliance Securities, the decline in the dollar index is supporting gold prices and contributing to safe-haven buying as a result of the rising tensions in the Middle East.

Since Friday, at least four vessels have been hit by drone and missile strikes in the Red Sea and Bab al-Mandab Strait, as the Iran-aligned Houthis continued their attacks on shipping lanes.

According to Reliance's Trivedi, gold prices are predicted to stay high due to the focus on the Fed's meeting minutes.

The Fed's January policy meeting, scheduled for 1900 GMT, may provide more information about the timing of anticipated interest rate cuts.

A narrow majority of economists polled by Reuters predict that the Fed will likely lower the federal funds rate in June. However, the bigger risk is that the first rate cut may occur later than forecast, rather than earlier.

Lower interest rates reduce the opportunity cost of holding bullion.

Although the US inflation rate has shown significant improvement, Mary Daly, President of the Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco, emphasized the need for continued efforts to maintain price stability. Meanwhile, a fellow Fed official advised against prolonging rate cuts.

At $904.75 per ounce, gold was up 0.4%, then rose 0.8% to $982.59 and gained 0.7% to $23.14 per ounce.