Oil, gold climb as markets await key US inflation data

+ ↺ − 16 pxOil and gold prices climbed on Wednesday as geopolitical tensions intensified ahead of the release of key U.S. inflation data. The yen weakened against the dollar after giving up much of its gains following rare intervention in currency markets by Japan and the United States. Markets remained focused on U.S. consumer price index data later in the session for signals on the timing of a potential Federal Reserve rate hike. MSCI’s broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan rose 0.8%, while Japan’s benchmark Nikkei share average (.N225) gained 0.8% as the market reopened following a holiday. The dollar index, which measures the greenback against a basket of currencies, rose 0.07% to 99.88.