London — Gold edged higher on Wednesday after Catalonia’s leader balked at making a formal declaration of independence from Spain, sending the euro higher and the dollar down. The dollar index fell to the lowest in more than a week, making dollar-priced gold cheaper for buyers using other currencies. "These concerns about the ramifications of the Catalan independence referendum are fading, giving some support to the euro and weakening the dollar," said Jens Pedersen, senior analyst at Danske Bank in Copenhagen. Spot gold was up 0.2% at $1,289.40 an ounce by 10am GMT while US gold futures for December delivery eased 0.2% to $1,291.70 an ounce. Investors were awaiting minutes from the US Federal Reserve’s latest meeting, due to be released at 6pm GMT, for clues on the outlook for potential interest-rate rises. However, there is scant chance they will have a major impact, Pedersen said, since they will probably merely support expectations that the US central bank will raise rates in De...
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