By Zhang Mengying

– Gold was down on Wednesday morning in Asia as investors awaited the U.S. consumer price index (CPI) for more clues on the interest rate hikes.

Gold futures inched down 0.05% to $1,851.05 by 11:01 PM ET (3:01 AM GMT). The dollar, which normally moves inversely to gold, edged up on Wednesday morning.

U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen said on Tuesday that inflation might remain high, and the Biden administration is likely to increase the 4.7% inflation forecast for this year in its budget proposal.

Gold-related transactions involving Russia may be sanctioned, and any efforts to circumvent U.S. sanctions using gold are closely monitored, Yellen said.

Monetary policies are still on investors' radars. They now await Friday’s U.S. CPI data for clues on the interest rate hike path.

The World Bank slashed its forecast for global growth this year to 2.9% from a January prediction of 4.1%, as concerns of inflation, supply disruptions, and higher interest rates persist.

In Asia Pacific, Japan’s first-quarter economy beat expectations with the country's gross domestic product (GDP) shrank 0.5% in January-March year-on-year, smaller than the preliminary reading of 1.0% drop released last month.

The Reserve Bank of Australia hiked interest rates to 0.85% on Tuesday.

In other precious metals, silver edged down 0.12%. Platinum fell 0.28% while palladium jumped 0.74%.