Even as the dollar wallows near three-year lows, U.S. Treasury Secretary Stephen Mnuchin waved aside worries, stating that the decline would provide a boost to the U.S. economy.

“A weaker dollar is good for us as it related to trade and opportunities,” Mnuchin said at the gathering of billionaire investors and world leaders at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland.

Also at Davos, when asked about U.S. President Donald Trump’s decision to place tariffs on solar panels and washing machines, U.S. Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross confirmed on Wednesday that there will be more measures taken on what he considers unfair trade policies from U.S. partners.

The comments from the public officials come even as Trump himself prepares to travel to the event. Trump is due to take an overnight flight on Wednesday night to Davos where he plans to meet with world leaders on Thursday to encourage investment in the United States and cooperation on national security issues, including the fight against Islamic State and North Korea's nuclear and ballistic missile programs.

White House senior economic adviser Gary Cohn said Trump will use his speech to encourage global companies to invest in the United States and take advantage of Trump's corporate tax cuts, while stressing his "America First" policies and seeking more reciprocal trade policies from U.S. allies.

Gold rallied to its strongest level since last September, supported by a weaker U.S. dollar languishing at three-year lows.

Dollar weakness usually benefits gold, as it boosts the metal's appeal as an alternative asset and makes dollar-priced commodities cheaper for holders of other currencies.

The dollar index wallowed at more than three-year lows. At 10:47 GMT it fell 0.46% to 89.47, its deepest nadir since December 2014.

Comex gold futures rose to a session high of $1,350.20 a troy ounce, a level not seen since September 8. It was last at $1,349.10 by 10:51 GMT up around $12.30, or 0.9%.

Market participants looked ahead to publication of Markit’s preliminary composite purchasing managers’ index for January, considered a leading indicator for the more widely-followed report from the Institute of Supply Management.

Also amid top tier data on Wednesday’s economic agenda, traders will digest existing home sales for December.

67 components of the S&P 500 have already reported earnings as of Tuesday’s close and growth in earnings per share is “re-accelerating”, supporting the wide-based stock rally according to The Earnings Scout.

“Sales growth acceleration justifies higher prices,” these analysts said.

Breaking the trend, Texas Instrument looked set to slump nearly 7% after reporting its slowest revenue growth in four quarters on soft demand after the close on Tuesday.

In earnings scheduled for Wednesday, market participants will focus on reports from General Electric, United Technologies, Ford Motor, Abbott Labs, Comcast, Discover or Norfolk Southern among others.

Oil prices saw mixed trade on Wednesday after the American Petroleum Institute said in its weekly report released a day earlier that U.S. crude inventories rose by 4.755 million barrels, surprising consensus that had forecast a 1.6 million decline.

Official data from the Energy Information Administration will be released Wednesday at 15:30 GMT amid forecasts for a draw of around 1.0 million barrels.

Despite this, markets remain supported by strong economic growth and by supply restrictions led by the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) and Russia.

Russian Energy Minister Alexander Novak said on Wednesday that an average Brent price of around $60 was a reasonable forecast for this year, Interfax news agency reported.

U.S. crude oil futures gained 0.26% to $64.64 at 10:54 GMT, while Brent oil lost 0.69% to $68.67.