Gold rose on Wednesday, buoyed by a softer U.S. dollar, as investors looked towards the minutes of the Federal Reserve's July meeting and the Jackson Hole symposium of central bankers this week for cues on further rate cuts.

Stocks start the week just shy of record highs, underpinned by a well-received corporate earnings season and hopes the Federal Reserve will soon start reducing official borrowing costs again. Investors are therefore keen that Friday’s keynote address by Fed Chair Jerome Powell at the Jackson Hole symposium will be suitably dovish.

Liquidity constraints pose a significant challenge for BTC bulls looking to engineer a steep uptrend well into the year-end.

Jay Powell’s speech at the Federal Reserve’s August summit in Jackson Hole, Wyoming, is always a high-stakes moment. This year, the central bank’s chair takes the podium under fire — facing fierce attacks from Donald Trump and a growing insurgency within his own institution.

The U.S. dollar gained for a third straight session on Wednesday against the euro and sterling as traders awaited the Federal Reserve's annual Jackson Hole symposium this week for clues on the monetary policy path.

Crypto markets dropped further as investors grow cautious ahead of Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell's Friday Jackson Hole speech. Bitcoin fell below $114,000, now down 9% below its Thursday record high, with a number of altcoins seeing even steeper declines.

According to Bloomberg Economics, "Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell has the opportunity to settle the speculation with his speech at the annual Jackson Hole Symposium", but economists Anna Wong, Stuart Paul, Eliza Winger, Estelle Ou and Chris G. Collins think he won't be as frank this year.

Wall Street's main indexes closed roughly flat on Monday, after struggling for direction while investors awaited a raft of corporate earnings reports from major retailers for more signs about the state of the economy and the Federal Reserve's annual symposium in Jackson Hole.