The dollar index edged down 0.04% on Wednesday as the euro and yen recovered. The euro firmed ahead of Thursday's ECB meeting, where rates are expected to stay unchanged, while the yen bounced slightly from a 39-year low on prospects of faster BOJ rate hikes. Dollar losses were capped by a 2% jump in WTI crude to a six-week high, which lifted inflation expectations, and by higher Treasury yields that widened rate differentials. Safe-haven demand also supported the dollar after Iran-backed Houthi rebels prepared attacks on Red Sea shipping and vowed a blockade on Saudi Arabia. Gold and silver rallied to two-week highs, with August COMEX gold up 1.85% and September silver up 2.01%, buoyed by the weaker dollar and Middle East tensions.