Gold hovered near a two-week high on Wednesday, helped by hopes central banks will ease monetary policy in a bid to nurture a fragile recovery in the global economy. Spot gold was little changed at $1,616.79 an ounce by 0646 GMT, after rising more than 4 percent since last Friday.
It hit a two-week high of $1,624.70 in the previous session. The US gold futures contract for August delivery edged down 0.3 percent to $1,617.40. Spot platinum rose to a two-week high of $1,485.75 an ounce. Spot palladium gained 1.2 percent to $601.24, extending a rally near nearly 4 percent in the previous session after data showed unexpectedly strong US auto sales in June.