By Moming Zhou, MarketWatch NEW YORK (MarketWatch) -- Gold futures rose Wednesday for a third session, climbing to their highest levels in two weeks, as a weakening dollar and newly released consumer price data raised the metal's investment appeal. U.S. consumer prices rose in June at the fastest pace in nearly a year, raising inflation worries and gold's value as a protection against rising prices. Meanwhile, the U.S. dollar lost ground against most of its major rivals. August gold futures rose $15.90, or 1.7%, to $938.70 an ounce on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange. It rose to $941.70 earlier, the highest intraday level since July 1. The dollar will "provide further direction to gold," said James Moore, an analyst at TheBullionDesk.com. "Investors are also paying close attention to economic data and Fed statements." The Federal Reserve will release minutes of its latest meeting later Wednesday, in which the central bank could provide its outlook for inflation and economic growth. Higher inflation outlook tends to push up gold prices, as some investors buy the metal as a hedge against rising prices. The U.S. consumer prices index rose a seasonally adjusted 0.7% in June, the Labor Department reported Wednesday. That's the biggest increase since July 2008. The core CPI - which excludes often-volatile food and energy prices -- rose a seasonally adjusted 0.2%. The data came one day after the Labor Department reported the producer price index, a gauge of whole-sale level inflation, jumped 1.8% last month, climbing by the most since November 2007. In currencies trading Wednesday, the dollar index (DXY 79.40, -0.78, -0.97%) fell to 79.396, down from above 80 in late trade Tuesday. A weaker greenback tends to push up dollar-denominated commodities prices such as gold and crude. In energy trading, crude oil rose for the first session in four, bouncing back above $60 a barrel. Rising crude prices also tend to push up gold prices, as higher energy costs raise the inflation rate. In exchange-traded funds, holdings in SPDR Gold Trust (GLD 92.12, +1.31, +1.44%) , the biggest gold ETF, fell to 1,094.54 metric tons Tuesday, down 15.27 metric tons from a day ago, according to latest data from the fund. SPDR gold holdings have tumbled nearly 40 metric tons in the past month. In other metals Monday, September silver rose 44 cents, or 3.5%, to $13.305 an ounce, October platinum added $26.50, or 2.3%, to $1,161.60 an ounce, while the September contract for palladium gained $4.65, or 1.9%, to $248.50 an ounce. September copper gained 9.9 cents, or 4.3%, to $2.398 a pound. Moming Zhou is a MarketWatch reporter based in New York.

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