09:25 AM EDT, 07/10/2024 (MT Newswires) -- Gold traded higher early on Wednesday as the dollar and yields weakened ahead of the second day of Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell's congressional testimony.

Gold for August delivery was last seen up US$20.00 to US$2,387.90 per ounce,

The rise comes as Powell continues with his semi-annual testimony to Congress with an appearance before House lawmakers. His remarks are being closely watched for any indication for when the central bank will begin lowering interest rates. However in Tuesday remarks to the Senate, Powell offered little detail on the Fed's plans.

"The Federal Reserve's chairman emphasized the need for more evidence of slowing inflation before considering interest rate cuts," Saxo Bank noted. "We believe long-term investor sentiment for gold will stay positive due to ongoing uncertainty about the U.S. economy and concerns over the unsustainability of the U.S. deficit."

Two U.S. inflation reports this week may give a firmer indication on the Fed's path going forward. The June Consumer Price Index coming Thursday is expected to show an annualized rise of 3.1%, according to Marketwatch, down from 3.3% in May.

The CPI data will be followed on Friday with the release of the June Producer Price Index, with the consensus estimate expecting a rise of 0.1% from May, up from a drop of 0.2% in that month.

The dollar eased early, with the ICE dollar index last seen down 0.09 points to 105.04.

Treasury yields also fell, with the U.S. two-year note last seen paying 4.616%, down 2.1 basis points, while the yield on the 10-year note was down 1.5 basis points to 4.286%.