Gold up on a softer dollar; U.S. CPI, Fed minutes in focus

BENGALURU (Reuters) - Gold prices rose early on Wednesday as the dollar index hovered near two-week lows, with markets awaiting key U.S. inflation data and minutes from the Federal Reserve's March meeting.

FUNDAMENTALS

* Spot gold was on track for a fourth straight session of gains, up 0.2 percent at $1,341.26 an ounce as of 0114 GMT. Prices earlier rose to a one-week high of $1,342.64 an ounce.

* U.S. gold futures were unchanged at $1,346 an ounce.

* The dollar index , which measures the greenback against six other major currencies, was steady at 89.567, not far from a two-week low of 89.544 hit on Tuesday.

* Chinese President Xi Jinping promised on Tuesday to open the country's economy further and lower import tariffs on products like cars, in a speech seen as an attempt to defuse an escalating trade dispute with the United States.

* U.S. President Donald Trump welcomed Xi's promise to open China's economy further, expressing confidence the world's two largest economies would come through an ongoing trade spat and "make great progress together."

* U.S. producer prices increased more than expected in March, boosted by rising healthcare and food costs, pointing to a steady buildup of inflation pressures.

* The U.S. economy likely expanded at a 2.0 percent annualised rate in the first quarter in the wake of the March payrolls data released on Friday, the Atlanta Federal Reserve's GDPNow forecast model showed on Tuesday.

* The Bank of England should not delay raising interest rates again, one of its top policymakers, Ian McCafferty said, pointing to the possibility of faster pay rises and the recent strong pick-up in the world economy.

* The European Central Bank could stagger the process of raising euro zone interest rates by first lifting its sub-zero deposit rate back toward positive territory, one of its longest-standing policymakers, Ewald Nowotny, said on Tuesday.

* Kin Mining NL decided to curtail construction works on the Leonora gold project pending a full review of capital cost and schedule for completion, the company said on Wednesday.

(Reporting by Swati Verma in Bengaluru; editing by Richard Pullin)