Gold edged higher on Wednesday as inflation worries eased, ‌while investors awaited a slew of U.S. economic data this week to gauge the Federal Reserve's policy trajectory.

Spot gold ​was up 0.3% at $5,208.08 per ounce, as of 0243 GMT. U.S. gold futures for April delivery fell 0.5% to $5,216.80.

Oil ​prices dropped ​below $90 per barrel, cooling inflation concerns, a day after U.S. President Donald Trump predicted a quick end to the war with Iran, while the International Energy Agency proposed ⁠the largest ever oil release from strategic reserves, according to a media report.

"With these (inflation) concerns having eased... hedging and safe-haven attributes (of gold) has once again come to the fore. So, I think from current levels we remain optimistic," said Nikos Kavalis, Singapore managing director of Metals Focus.

The U.S. ​and Israel pounded ‌Iran with what ⁠the Pentagon and the ⁠Iranians on the ground called the most intense airstrikes of the war, despite global markets betting that ​Trump will seek to end the conflict soon.

The war has effectively shut ‌the Strait of Hormuz, a chokepoint for a fifth of ⁠global oil and liquefied natural gas, stranding tankers for more than a week and forcing producers to halt output as storage fills, driving energy prices soaring.

The U.S. military "eliminated" 16 Iranian mine-laying vessels near the Strait of Hormuz on Tuesday, the U.S. Central Command said in a statement.

Bullion, traditionally viewed as a safe-haven asset, has risen more than 20% so far this year, notching successive record highs amid heightened geopolitical and economic uncertainty.

"I think it's very likely that we'll see gold get to over $6,000 an ounce by the third or fourth ‌quarter this year, probably even higher early next year," Kavalis said.

Markets ⁠are now awaiting the U.S. consumer price index for February, due ​later in the day, and the Personal Consumption Expenditures (PCE) index - the Fed's preferred inflation gauge - on Friday.

Investors expect the Fed to keep rates steady at the end of its two-day meeting on March 18, ​per CME Group's ‌FedWatch tool.

Spot silver edged 0.1% lower to $88.35 per ounce. Spot platinum ⁠lost 0.5% to $2,190.44, while palladium rose 0.8% ​to $1,667.73.

(Reporting by Noel John in Bengaluru; Editing by Rashmi Aich and Sherry Jacob-Phillips)